Quote:
Originally Posted by mrnyc
it won't, but it doesn't matter. its no longer needed. its being repaired where necessary for any possible structural issues, and the rest covered over and monitored.
remember its purpose was to hold the wiring inside, which got soaked with salt water and ruined during sandy, but that does not compromise the structure of the tunnel, as the multiple experts noted above.
also remember they were going to tear the whole of it out, its just that by hanging the wiring and bondo-ing it up now they don't have to bother.
so let's give them some credit here, its not the hudson tunnels situation, its more similar to what they did for the montague tunnel --- and that hasn't fallen on our heads for the past five years. 
(The Authority closed the Montague tunnel because Hurricane Sandy’s salty flood water corroded its mechanical and electrical infrastructure. The $308 million rehabilitation includes work on tracks, tunnel lighting, circuit-breaker housings, power substations, pump rooms, power cables, fans, and ducts, according to the Authority. Workers also repaired leaks in the tube and replaced thousands of bolts that hold the tunnel’s 18-foot cast iron tunnel rings in place.).
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That the now unused bench wall is cracking and spalling concrete is the problem and that sections of it will possibly collapse in the future. Not removing it gambles that there won't be significant problems as it continues deteriorating. Should the FRP not be strong enough to retain the wall in the case of such a failure you could get concrete on the tracks. The sensor system doesn't give me a lot of comfort for agency that can't keep escalators running, it's drains unclogged, or computer systems functioning.
The MTA closed Montague for a year and the contractors tore out and rebuilt all the bench wall that was impacted, like 30K feet of it. In the Canarsie the MTA, or Cuomo rather, decided to only demo the worst parts and cover the rest.
Here is the new bench wall being installed in Montague:
This is what they're doing in the Canarsie instead:
Will there be problems in 5 or 10 years? Probably not. After that though I wouldn't care to place a wager. The Montague repair is certain to last many decades.