Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, Gov. Kathy Hochul, U.S.Sen. Charles Schumer and Manhattan Congressman Adriano Espaillat’s joint announcement of delivering billions in federal funding for construction of Second Avenue Subway Phase 2 leaves motorists, riders and taxpayers paying for one of the most expensive MTA transit projects in history.  It would be second only to the $11.6 billion LIRR East Side Access to Grand Central Madison.

MTA accepted the terms and conditions within the $7.7 billion Federal Transit Administration Capital Investment Grant. FTA caps its funding at $3.4 billion. The MTA is responsible for both the $4.3 billion local share and any inevitable cost overruns.

MTA is committed to providing $378 million each year from 2025 up to 2032 representing a majority of the local share..  How can the MTA make such a legal commitment for this time period when the MTA board, state Legislature and governor have not submitted, reviewed or approved the next 2025-2029 and 2030-2034 five-year capital plans?

In April 2019, the MTA Office of Capital Construction President Janno Lieber claimed that the MTA could save between $500 million to $1 billion in costs for the proposed Second Avenue Subway Phase 2.  This would have reduced the overall tab to almost $5 billion.  Promised cost savings were based upon reduction in excavation for the 125th Street Station and building the 116th Street Station in space no longer needed for other project work. Fast forward to February 2022, and instead the cost increased to $6.9 billion, while in 2023, the cost grew to $7.7 billion.

Part of the project cost includes spending $3.4 billion to pay for three new stations. Based upon my previous experience working at FTA, these may be  the most expensive stations built in America. These $4.3 billion in local funds could have been programmed to pay for upgrading outdated signal systems on many of the NYC Transit 26 subway lines. That investment would benefit far more riders than Second Avenue Subway Phase 2.

If Congestion Toll Pricing doesn’t raise the anticipated annual $1 billion, how will the MTA make up for the shortfall?  Which state of good repair capital projects will be delayed or canceled to preserve Second Avenue Phase 2 local funding?  The other 95% of 5 million MTA pre-COVID 19 riders, who don’t benefit from this investment, will be stuck with the tab.

The MTA claims this project would benefit 100,000 anticipated NYC Transit subway riders out of over 5 million pre COVID-19 numbers. This represents a very small fraction of daily riders and may be wishful thinking. Any independent cost benefit analysis might cast doubt that this a sound investment for commuters and taxpayers.  Buyer beware!Larry Penner

Larry Penner

Great  Neck

Larry Penner is a transportation advocate, historian and writer who previously served as a former director for the Federal Transit Administration Region 2 New York Office of Operations and Program Management.