LIRR: Smoother Ride for Customers as Track Work Wraps Up Friday

ong Island Rail Road commuters should be able to enjoy a smooth as track work on the Port Jefferson Branch wraps up on Friday. 

The LIRR will have installed more than 17,000 new railroad ties between the Huntington and Port Jefferson stations on the Port Jefferson Branch between June 24 and Aug. 9. Normal train service is expected to resume after Friday. 

"The work on the Port Jefferson Branch will help ensure safety, greater service reliability and a smoother, more comfortable ride for customers," read an LIRR release. 

Aaron Donovan, LIRR's deputy director for external communications, said crews have installed 12,000 concrete ties along 4.5 miles of track between Kings Park and Port Jefferson. 

"This means the majority of the rails along this stretch are now concrete ties, which last longer and provide a steadier, smoother ride," Donovan said. 

LIRR crews also replaced 5,200 wood ties between Huntington and Kings Park stations.  In doing so, crews eliminated railroad joints and regraded the tracks, according to Donovan. 

Other changes to the tracks include renewing six railroad crossings between Huntington and Port Jefferson, and replacing bridge timbers on the LIRR bridge over Old Town Road in Setauket. 

These projects are part of the $70 million the LIRR reports is budgeted for 2013 to help maintain the railroad's infrastructure.