Uncertain Status for Three Major Projects as N.Y. Metro Transit Authority Capital Plan Goes to Albany
Two project bid awards are on hold for the $6-billion East Side Access project to extend Long Island Rail Road into Grand Central Terminal. One is a $364-million, mile-long tunneling job that teams bid on seven months ago, says Nagaraja. A local joint venture led by Slattery Skanska and Traylor Brothers with Judlau Contracting, Inc. was the low bidder. The other contract is a $97 million open-cut excavation job to connect an existing tunnel to a railyard in Queens. Kiewit Construction Co., a division of Omaha-based Peter Kiewits Sons, was the low bidder, says Nagaraja.
The review board must decide on the submitted MTA budget within a month, says Nagaraja. The budget already falls short of ideal needs; the core program would receive about $16 billion as opposed to $17 billion originally requestedrequiring renovation of many subway stations to be delayed and Nagaraja's expansion projects would receive $4.5 billion, not the ideal $7.6 billion, he says. The $2-billion allocation for extension of the 7 line would be paid for by the city of New York. "The rest depends on the capital program review board," Nagaraja says.