LIRR riders should be concerned about some critical details that were missing from Senator Schumer’s (D) announcement that he has secured $72 million from the United States Department of Transportation for various Penn Station capital improvements.
Is the $72 million an approved appropriation of funding that a transit agency must still develop a grant application or apply for, or is it a real grant that includes $72 million in funding to a transit agency that is now immediately available to be spent by the grant recipient? Are these funds being administered by the Federal Transit Administration? Is there already a Memorandum of Understanding between the MTA, LIRR, New Jersey Transit and Amtrak for administration of these funds?
How many years will it take to advance design and engineering (reviewed and approved by MTA, NYC Transit, LIRR, NJ Transit, and Amtrak operations, maintenance and other departments) before the project is ready for the next phase of construction? Design and engineering usually averages 5% to 10% of a capital project cost. Who is going to come up with the $648 to $684 million for construction?
Independent third-party engineering construc-tion management firms to assist in oversight and contingency funding for construction bids coming in above the project cost estimator, contract change orders during construction due to unforeseen site conditions, or late requests by LIRR, NYC Transit, NJ Transit, and Amtrak operations or maintenance groups?
Sincerely,
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. This included the development, review, approval and oversight for billions in capital projects and programs for NJ Transit, MTA NYC Transit bus, subway and Staten Island Railway, Long Island and Metro North Rail Roads, MTA Bus, NYCDOT Staten Island Ferry along with 30 other transit agencies in New York and New Jersey.
