LIRR performing switch installation at "Atlantic Yards" this weekend/nights and next; work hours/noise level unclear

A more efficient entry for railroad trains to Atlantic Terminal is on the way, thanks to the West Portal work that's part of the Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park project.

We just don't know exactly what's happening during weekend/overnight work starting tonight.

According to a 11/29/17 press release from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, LIRR to Install New Switches at Atlantic Terminal Weekends of Dec. 2-3, and Dec. 9-10:

The Long Island Rail Road will perform switch installation work near Atlantic Terminal in Brooklyn as part of its Vanderbilt Yard Reconfiguration. This work, a piece of the Atlantic Yards Project, will make operations more efficient by allowing trains to access the yard directly from Atlantic Terminal. Currently, empty trains that terminate in Brooklyn have to backtrack east about a half-mile into the Atlantic rail tunnel. There, they have to stop and then return west to access the rail yard for servicing and storage before being put back into service.
This cumbersome process blocks other trains from using the tunnel for six to eight minutes each time, adding up to about two hours every day. The new switches, among other project developments, will allow for trains to bypass these lengthy steps, and instead, travel directly from Atlantic Terminal to Atlantic Yards, allowing for other train service to flow seamlessly in both directions.
To allow for this work to take place, train service will be suspended for two consecutive weekends, starting from after 10 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 1, to 6 a.m. Monday, Dec. 3; and again, after 10 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 8, to 6 a.m. on Monday, Dec. 11.

(Emphasis added)

It's surprising that the MTA would call its own railyard, the Vanderbilt Yard, "Atlantic Yards," which is now a discarded brand name for the project now known as Pacific Park.

The work won't begin until those fans leaving the New York Islanders game tonight board LIRR trains from Atlantic Terminal heading east. On these weekends, New York City Transit will cross-honor various LIRR tickets.

Spreading the word, leaving some things out

The announcement was circulated to various community boards and was picked up by a few news outlets, including Metro.

But the switch installation work was not mentioned in the last two-week Construction Update, dated 11/20/17, which said only "Preparation for New Track Slip Switches will continue (contractor and LIRR work)" and described that in the category of "Night/Weekend Work."

(Update: it was mentioned at an October meeting of the Atlantic Yards Community Development Corporation.)

Based on the announcement, the work could be overnight. The noise level is unclear.

Perhaps the next Construction Update, officially covering work beginning next Monday but sometimes distributed on the previous Friday, will tell us more.