BUSHWICK, BROOKLYN -- After a nearly a year of route changes and subway station closures, M train service in Brooklyn will return to normal just in time for residents' Monday morning commute, the MTA announced on Friday.

The MTA is on track to finish its last phase of M line construction this weekend, which has closed subway stations between Myrtle-Broadway and Myrtle-Wyckoff since September. Regular service is slated to resume by 5 a.m. on April 30, according to the MTA.

“Completing this project on time and on budget was critical to show how serious we are about minimizing impacts on our customers as we perform this important work,” said MTA Chairman Joseph Lhota.

The $163 million project to repair two M line overpasses began in July 2017 with the Fresh Pond Bridge in Ridgewood, Queens. M line service was rerouted from four local subway stations over the next two months as the century-old bridge between Fresh Pond Road and Middle Village-Metropolitan Avenue was demolished and replaced.

Just a day after that project wrapped on Sept. 1, phase two began on the Myrtle Viaduct. In the months since, Bushwick commuters who live past the Myrtle-Broadway stop relied on shuttles, the L train or their feet to get around.

During that time, the MTA tore down the 100-year-old bridge and replaced it with a 310-foot structure equipped with brand new noise reducing tracks, track ties, signal equipment and cables.

“When we couple the long-term fortification work on this line with the smoother ride and quieter tracks, we can be sure we’re on our way to building the world-class transit system we’ve pledged to deliver," said NYC Transit President Andy Byford.

The full M line service will prove critical for Brooklynites when the MTA shuts down the L train tunnel between Brooklyn and Manhattan for its next 15-month construction project in April 2019.

(Lead photo by Kathleen Culliton/Patch)