The MTA told local politicians that the L train wouldn't shut down before 2018. View Full Caption DNAinfo/Michael Ip

BUSHWICK — L train service between Manhattan and Brooklyn won't be shut down by repairs until 2018, according to a local politician who met with the MTA last week.

New York State Assemblyman Joe Lentol, whose district covers parts of North Brooklyn that would be affected by a shutdown, said that he and other local politicians were told by the agency that they won't begin repairs to the Canarsie Tube that links Manhattan and Brooklyn until two or three years from now.

The news came as a relief to Lentol's office, said Edward Baker, a spokesman for Lentol.

"In terms of planning I think that..people [will] have a sufficient amount of time to make the necessary adjustments," Baker said, so the can find, "the best way to go about the closures...[and so] people [are] able to change their morning commute."

The MTA, that has been mostly tight lipped since news leaked of the shut down in mid January, would not confirm the assemblyman's remarks.

"Construction timelines for the project will be developed as planning and design work commences, and no timeline has been established for work to begin on the Canarsie Tube itself," MTA spokesman Kevin Ortiz wrote.

Water flooded the Canarsie Tube underneath the East River during Hurricane Sandy and the MTA says it needs to close down the tunnel for some amount of time in order to do repairs.

If the transit agency does a full shut down, the repairs will take around 18 months. If it closes one tube at a time there will be limited service for three years, according to spokesman Kevin Ortiz.