Weekend Construction Begins On 7 Train

To view our videos, you need to
enable JavaScript. Learn how.
install Adobe Flash 9 or above. Install now.

Then come back here and refresh the page.

This weekend marks the start of winter detours for people who rely on the 7 train to get between Queens and Manhattan.

Construction will knock out service between Times Square and Queensboro Plaza until 5 a.m. Monday.

Crews will be working every weekend through the end of March for infrastructure maintenance and installation of a new signal system.

The MTA says the work is part of a project to bring faster and more reliable service, but for now, riders say it is a major inconvenience.

"Having to go to go to Queens Plaza is an extra 30 minutes tagged on to our commute, so it's a bit annoying," said Gabriela Ballentine, a Long Island City resident.

"I would rather they not do this," said Shylisa Watson, a Brooklyn resident. "Do it at night when everybody is home sleeping. That would be so much better."

As alternatives, take the E, F or N trains, or the Q train, which is extended to and from Ditmars Boulevard during the day.

Straphangers can use a free shuttle bus between Vernon Boulevard-Jackson Avenue and Queensboro Plaza.