HORODNICEAU

New York City's Metropolitan Transportation Agency, which runs the city's sprawling subway system, has finally announced a new president of its multi-billion-dollar Capital Construction Co. Michael Horodniceanu served as city traffic commissioner from 1986 to 1990. For several months there has been speculation that he would succeed Mysore Nagaraja, the unit's first-ever chief. He retired in January after four years in the post and now serves as a consultant to Mayor Michael Bloomberg (R).

Horodniceanu had been CEO or Urbitran Group, a New York City-based transportation and planning consulting firm. The company ranks 363 on ENR's list of The Top 500 Design Firms, with 2007 revenue of $35.5 million.

"Michael has the experience and vision to lead the M.T.A. Capital Construction Co. at a time when the need for our transportation megaprojects is clear," MTA Executive Director Elliot Sander said in a statement July 28.

Horodniceanu joins the agency at a time when it is under fire for planned fare hikes expected in 2009 and again in 2011, and when its budget and capital projects are expected to face strong scrutiny from New York Gov.David Paterson.

Horodniceanu's boss, MTA CEO Elliot Sander, was appointed by Paterson's predecessor, former Gov. Elliot Spitzer, who resigned in March. Observers believe that Paterson may push to stretch out completion of MTA megaprojects such as the Second Avenue Subway and East Side Access as he seeks to cope with a looming fiscal crisis in the city and state.

Also completed July 28 was Urbitran's acquisition by New York City-based engineering giant AECOM. The firm did not publicly announce the deal, but it was noted on a company website. Urbitran "provides AECOM with expanded expertise and a strong portfolio of traffic engineering, transportation planning and transit oriented development projects in the New York Metro area," says the website article.

According to AECOM, Urbitran was Founded in 1973, and has offices in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York and Connecticut.

MTA chief Sander is a former top executive of DMJM-Harris, also a unit of AECOM.

The megagiant also announced July 28 that it has completed its purchase of Earth Tech Inc., the Long Beach, Calif.-based engineering firm, that had been owned by Tyco International Ltd. But not included in the acquisiton are Earth Tech's water and power technologies unit, its North American contract operations businesses and its Mexican operations.