Three substations — Oceanside, Oil City and Long Beach — are being demolished and replaced by state-of-the-art, prefabricated substations constructed on platforms that will take them out of the flood zone. Work recently began on the Oceanside substation. The Oil City project is set to begin next January, and Long Beach will follow in September.

Long Beach branch systems

restoration: $56.4 million

This project calls for the replacement of switch machines, signals, communications and third-rail equipment, and is currently in the design stage. Critical components will be placed on platforms to make them more resilient in future storms.

Wreck Lead Bridge systems

restoration: $7 million

At the bridge, the LIRR will replace underwater cables, the bridge’s electrical system and the emergency generator.

Design work and construction will be carried out over the next four years, and at times will necessitate brief service outages, during which bus service will be substituted for trains. The interruptions will be scheduled during off-peak hours and on weekends to minimize the inconvenience to LIRR customers. Long Beach’s unique status as a weekend summer destination will be taken into account when outages are scheduled.

“Whenever we do an outage, the timing is branch specific,” Arena said. “We wouldn’t do it in any way that would disrupt the summer program there.”

Arena also said that travelers would be notified of any service disruptions weeks in advance, through posters, pamphlets and press releases.