MTA Awards $1.8 Billion Contract to Expand Long Island Rail Road
14 December 2017 - 11:16AM
Dow Jones News
By Paul Berger
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority on Wednesday awarded a
$1.8 billion contract to expand the Long Island Rail Road, even as
its commissioners raised concerns about runaway capital-project
costs and an increasingly strained operating budget.
A consortium including construction firms Dragados USA and CCA
Civil will build a third track along a 10-mile stretch of the
LIRR's heavily used Main Line corridor between Floral Park in
Queens and Hicksville on Long Island.
The expansion would increase capacity on five LIRR branches that
carry about 40% of the rail line's 300,000 weekday passengers, the
MTA says. It also would improve service and reduce disruption
systemwide, it adds.
It would allow reverse commuting from New York City to Long
Island. Currently, trains only travel in one direction during peak
hours.
The projected budget for the project is $2.6 billion, up from
$1.5 billion two years ago.
Several board members raised concerns about the rising cost of
MTA capital projects, though only one didn't vote in favor of the
contract. Commissioner James Vitiello, a representative of Dutchess
County, opted to abstain from approving the deal even though he
said he supported the project.
Mr. Vitiello cited as a concern the long-stalled East Side
Access project to build an LIRR station beneath Grand Central
Terminal.
That project, slated to open in late 2020, is seven years behind
schedule. Costs have risen from $4.3 billion to $10.2 billion. Mr.
Vitiello said there are signs the budget may rise again.
Several commissioners said the MTA needs to do a better job of
securing additional revenues from businesses and municipalities
that benefit from such large projects.
Andrew Saul, a representative from Westchester County, said, "I
feel these massive capital projects have put us in a really giant
hole."
During the debate, commissioners raised fears about signs of
weakening revenues from local taxes and about federal tax reform
that could hurt the region's economy and make it more difficult for
the MTA to refinance its borrowing.
Even so, they approved a roughly $16.5 billion budget for 2018,
an increase of 4.6% from 2017.
The budget includes $428 million toward an emergency plan
announced by MTA Chairman Joe Lhota this summer to improve subway
performance. The initiative calls for hiring 2,700 workers and
increasing maintenance and upgrades of tracks, signals and other
equipment.
Funding for the plan, which is projected to run through 2021,
remains unclear.
Mr. Lhota, an appointee of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, said New
York state will pay half. He has demanded that New York City fund
the remainder, but New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has so far
refused.
Mr. Lhota said that the emergency plan will be scaled back if
full funding isn't secured.
New York City's four appointees to the MTA board were the only
commissioners who voted against the budget. City Transportation
Commissioner Polly Trottenberg, said: "We are voting on an
operating budget at a time when our fiscal situation, city, state,
nationally is very much uncertain."
Lawrence Schwartz, a board appointee of Mr. Cuomo, acknowledged
the fiscal uncertainty. Despite that, "the governor of our state
has been unwavering in his commitment to fund at least half of the
subway improvement program," he said.
Write to Paul Berger at Paul.Berger@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 13, 2017 19:01 ET (00:01 GMT)
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