When Superstorm Sandy struck in 2012, the New York City Transit system was hit hard by devastating wind and rain, and a subsequent tidal surge that impacted transit service throughout the region for months. At the Hammels Wye Facility in Far Rockaway, NY, home to a power substation, signal tower, compressor and hydraulic rooms, circuit breaker houses, rack switch, and crew quarters, tracks were flooded; stations, tunnels, and fan plants were damaged; and saltwater compromised mechanical and signaling systems.

As part of NYC Transit’s subsequent Fix & Fortify program, which involved the assessment of several facilities in vulnerable, “low-lying” areas to determine protective measures against future storm damage, STV, as a subconsultant to AECOM, provided flood mitigation design services for Hammels Wye. To “harden” the facility against impending storms, approximately 1,200 feet of concrete and marine sheet walls were installed as a 12-foot tall, 30-foot-deep barrier capable of protecting the facility against a Category 2 hurricane. Existing brick walls were reinforced, as four deployable steel barrier gates were installed to form a watertight seal and its vulnerable compressor room was relocated within the protected area.