New York City Transit Authority President Andy Byford wanted third-party review of the city’s planned repair work on the L-train subway line. The Metropolitan Transit Authority Board in late March opted instead to sign a $1.2-million contract with JMT of NY Inc. to oversee safety, operations and construction of the revamped project, in which new cables will be installed in a racking system bolted to the tunnel’s concrete liner. The original $1-billion project called for rebuilding concrete bench walls along the century-old tunnel’s bottom sides that house conduits, which would have closed the subway tunnel under the East River for 15 months. The new plan avoids a full-time shutdown.