WAMC News

Sandy's Hardest Hit Still Assessing Infrastructure and Transportation Damage

WAMC Northeast Public Radio | By Jake Sorgen

Published October 31, 2012 at 7:21 AM EDT

State and federal officials, utility companies, and transportation service providers knew the recovery from Hurricane Sandy would be a long, uphill battle across the Northeast. Here's an update on the status of recovery services and transportation in some of the hardest hit areas:

In Connecticut, Governor Dannel P. Malloy says four counties have been declared disaster areas by the federal government. Malloy says the declaration from FEMA was made on an “expedited basis” following two conversations he had with President Barack Obama yesterday. The declaration, which Malloy says he expects will be extended to much of the rest of the state, will help municipalities bear the financial expense of cleaning up from the storm.

Officials are advising people to stay away from flood waters after state environmental and health officials warned that power outages caused sewage discharges in Branford, Bridgeport, East Lyme, Fairfield, Greenwich, Ledyard, New Hartford, and New Haven.

In New York, limited air travel is expected to return to the New York City metro area today. The Port

Authority of New York and New Jersey says JFK International Airport and Newark International Airport are now open with limited service though it is still unclear what carriers will have flights operating. LaGuardia Airport remains closed.

On the roads the northbound lanes of the FDR Drive from Battery to Dyckman Street and the southbound lanes from East 125^th Street to the Brooklyn Bridge are now open to traffic. But transportation around the city is still crippled as the subway system remains closed. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority fears critical electrical equipment could be ruined and corrosive salt water could have destroyed essential switches, lights, turnstiles, and the power-conducting third-rail. The head of the MTA said yesterday it was too early to tell how long it would take to make repairs.

And while Amtrak says it will resume modified service between Newark, New Jersey and points south today, there will be no Northeast Regional Service between New York and Boston and no Acela Express service for the entire length of the Northeast Corridor. No date has been set for service to resume.