No. 7 Extension Absent From MTA Cost Overrun Review
Responding to fears of exploding construction costs, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority has finished a financial review of its major capital initiatives, finding projects to be hundreds of millions more than previous estimates. Missing from the list, however, was the planned West Side extension of the No. 7 line, which would bring the subway from Times Square to the base of the Javits Center.
The results were announced at this morning’s MTA board meeting.
Transit advocates have highlighted the No. 7 project as one where inflated costs are extremely likely. Public cost projections for the extension have stayed flat at about $2 billion for the past five years—though officials removed from the plan a shell for a second station that would have cost hundreds of millions—and the state and the city have not agreed who will cover overruns.
An MTA spokesman said the No. 7 line was omitted from the cost review because of ongoing negotiations between the city and the state.
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Why is it that the Observer hires the most naive reporter?
"was omitted from the cost review because of ongoing negotiations between the city and the state"
And you buy that on face value? Have you even read anything about how the No. 7 came to be over the last 5 years?
They could have said they omitted it because it was being built by the State of New Jersey and you would still nod believingly.
Why do we tolerate this? Either the architects, planners and engineers that put together the original estimates are incompetent - or - we have a gun pointed to our collective backs by corrupt contractors. Which is it?
$903 million dollars for a Fulton Street station is enough. Spending another $2Billion for the PATH station is an outrage! For heaven's sake it all should be gold plated.
Let's throw out the rules that makes these things so expensive - and really bid these projects out to get them done for LESS. The Chinese are building these projects at a third of the cost. Perhaps they would be good infrastructure suppliers.