3RD TRACK PORT JEFFERSON LINE, LIRR
To accommodate a projected increase in Long Island Rail Road ridership following completion of the East Side Access project to Grand Central Terminal, and to expand local and reverse-peak service, a third track was built on the Main Line between Floral Park and Hicksville. In December 2017, the LIRR awarded a contract for the project to the consortium 3rd Track Constructors for $1.8 billion, with construction beginning in 2018 and completed in 2022. This project included renewal of the Carle Place, Westbury, Syosset, Mineola, Merillon Ave., New Hyde Park and the new Elmont Station servicing the UBS arena.
Initially, Apogee Lighting worked on the Carle Place station as a model for what was needed at the other stations. In conjunction with project architect Stantech and lighting designers from AWA, Apogee developed a comprehensive lighting solution that would be consistent from station-to-station, allowing for visual continuity of the line as well as facilitating the utility needs of the system, which were complex. Essentially, MTA was looking for a single lighting solution to run the length of each platform as well as a comprehensive system to house the various functionality each station needed. Apogee’s solution used signature products Pureflex and IP66 Micro Linear to achieve the necessary lighting specification. Furthermore, a custom housing was developed using Apogee Wireway that allowed for a single system to hold a relatively large amount of functionality: power, communications, audio, camera, fiber optic, ethernet and emergency lighting, and was strong enough to hold signage and resilient enough to deter birds.
One very interesting aspect to the job was the installation of blue light throughout the stations as an accent but the true reason was that research conducted by several research entities such as the Centre for Suicide Prevention indicated that the number of suicides at metro rail stations decreased by as much as 74% through the use of blue light emitting diode LED lights. The MTA was enthusiastic about the double duty our blue lights would achieve.
