MTA Clarifies Ronkonkoma Home Inspections For Double Track

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is clarifying Ronkonkoma Civic Association’s recent announcement on upcoming home inspections for work on the Double Track project.

Sal Arena, MTA spokesperson, told Patch that it is not possible for anyone who wants an inspection in Ronkonkoma to sign up for a home inspection, and that the offer is only being given to particular property owners who live directly in the area of the Double Track project.

“The Long Island Rail Road pledged to address the concerns of property owners living directly on the Double Track right of way,” reads the statement issued to Patch. “As part of that commitment, we have been in direct contact with those particular property owners, offering them a preliminary assessment of their homes to establish a record of current conditions in the event that claims are made attributing property damage to Double Track construction.”

Patch spoke with Diane Mottola of the civic association Monday, who also clarified that the inspections are for those directly affected by the change.

Arena also stated that the MTA have been in discussions with the civic association, local public officials and homeowners from the start of the public process, and said it is willing to do pre-inspections for homes that are directly on the construction’s right of way if a homeowner requests it.

The Double Track project is planning to add a second track of 12.6 miles between Ronkonkoma and Farmingdale. That track would connect up to the existing 5.3 miles of electrical track already installed on the Ronkonkoma branch.

The current inspections would be for the upcoming first phase of construction between Ronkonkoma and Central Islip.

According to the LIRR, the project is necessary because of the increasing volume of riders. More information on the project is available on the MTA website at: http://www.mta.info/lirr/doubletrack/ .