The Metropolitan Transportation Authority proposed to delay several expansion projects earlier this month in response to severe budget cuts and high construction costs. But the Long Island Transit Coalition says now is as good a time as any to start the project.
“It ain’t gonna get any cheaper,” said Gerry Bringman, the coalition’s chairman. “So we really need to get these projects rolling now because the cost of the projects are going to outpace the cost of inflation. They’re going to outpace any additional revenue the MTA hopes to obtain.”
MTA officials said that the cost of the undertaking has ballooned from $6.4 billion to $7.2 billion in the last year alone. The MTA previously proposed a $30 billon capital plan, which pays for expansion and maintenance projects, but presently lacks $17.5 billion.
“It’s clear that we need action in the shorter term,” said Dan Hendrick of the New York League of Conservation Voters. “That’s why we’re here in this coalition today, to call on Albany to start identifying solutions to this problem right away.”
The coalition hopes to get two key projects to ease the commutes of Long Islanders, who are increasingly turning to the Long Island Rail Road due to higher gas prices.
One proposed project would create a third track connecting Hicksville and Floral Park on the Port Jefferson branch.
The third track project will help LIRR connect its service with Grand Central 42nd Street Station as a part of the Grand Central Terminal East Access Project, providing one more station where Long Island passengers can get off. Penn Station 34th Street is currently the only station in Manhattan where riders can access the LIRR.
The new LIRR terminal would add approximately 160,000 Long Island riders to the 800,000 current passengers each weekday, according to the coalition.
“There is tremendous benefit to Nassau and Suffolk County commuters, and to the region in general,” said Bringman.
Friends Read Free