Last week the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation and their project consultants presented plans to rehabilitate the aerial tram system that connects Roosevelt Island to Manhattan at the Transportation Committee meeting of Community Board 8 Manhattan.

After many delays, construction is finally slated to begin on March 1st and last through the summer. The project will include changing the tower heads on both Tower 1 and Tower 2 in Manhattan as well as improving the cable technology currently in use. Renovations to the actual station on 2nd Avenue at 60th Street are not planned to be included in the first stages of the project. No word yet on whether any robots will be included in the new cabin designs.

The RIOC plans to use Sycamore Park and parts of the old heliport ramp that now connects the East River Greenway to York Avenue and Sutton Place at 60th Street for crane storage, staging, and operation. During construction, access to the Greenway via the ramp will be restricted. The RIOC will detour cyclists to use the existing 63rd Street pedestrian bridge during the times that ramp access is restricted.

The Queensboro Bridge bike lane will also be affected during the rehabilitation project. The RIOC is planning to use an innovate detour that will direct cyclists exit the bridge and head NORTH on the mid-block street between 1st and 2nd Avenues and then head EAST on 61st street, contra-flow of traffic, to reach 1st Avenue. The RIOC maintains that continuous bike access to the bridge will not be disrupted during the project.