The inspector general of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority has concluded that the relocation of underground utilities, including water pipes, gas lines, fuel tanks and electrical wires, are to blame for at least six months of delays and more than $130 million in overruns on the perennially postponed Second Avenue subway project, according to an article by Michael M. Grynbaum in today's edition of The New York Times.
"The utilities, within privately owned buildings or beneath Second Avenue itself, must be moved, the article said, "to make room for the first phase of the subway line, a 1.7-mile route between 96th Street and an existing station at Lexington Avenue and 63rd Street."
"The inspector general, Barry L. Kluger, who admitted 'frustration' over the project's progress, also found that the transportation authority's troubles in awarding contracts have added $120 million to the bill," the article continued, "and extended its completion date by a full year.
"Mr. Kluger's findings offer a rare glimpse at the item-by-item causes for the enormous financial woes plaguing the project. Federal officials now believe the first phase of the subway line will cost about $4.98 billion, nearly $1 billion more than the original estimate in 2007, when federal financing was secured for the project. Federal officials now estimate the first phase of work will be completed in February 2018, while transportation authority officials have put the date at no later than July 2017. The transportation authority has acknowledged the project is over budget, but its planners say the ultimate cost for this phase will be around $4.45 billion," the article said.
Mr. Kluger's findings were sent in a letter last month to Manhattan Borough President Scott M. Stringer, the article said, adding that Mr. Stringer said in an interview that "there is a sophistication needed for managing a capital program of this magnitude that is lacking."
Mr. Stringer, the article stated, "said he thought a joint city-state independent agency should be set up to coordinate work on the project, similar to a group created in 2004 that oversees construction in Lower Manhattan.
"The utilities, within privately owned buildings or beneath Second Avenue itself, must be moved, the article said, "to make room for the first phase of the subway line, a 1.7-mile route between 96th Street and an existing station at Lexington Avenue and 63rd Street."
"The inspector general, Barry L. Kluger, who admitted 'frustration' over the project's progress, also found that the transportation authority's troubles in awarding contracts have added $120 million to the bill," the article continued, "and extended its completion date by a full year.
"Mr. Kluger's findings offer a rare glimpse at the item-by-item causes for the enormous financial woes plaguing the project. Federal officials now believe the first phase of the subway line will cost about $4.98 billion, nearly $1 billion more than the original estimate in 2007, when federal financing was secured for the project. Federal officials now estimate the first phase of work will be completed in February 2018, while transportation authority officials have put the date at no later than July 2017. The transportation authority has acknowledged the project is over budget, but its planners say the ultimate cost for this phase will be around $4.45 billion," the article said.
Mr. Kluger's findings were sent in a letter last month to Manhattan Borough President Scott M. Stringer, the article said, adding that Mr. Stringer said in an interview that "there is a sophistication needed for managing a capital program of this magnitude that is lacking."
Mr. Stringer, the article stated, "said he thought a joint city-state independent agency should be set up to coordinate work on the project, similar to a group created in 2004 that oversees construction in Lower Manhattan.
Architecture Critic
Carter Horsley
Since 1997, Carter B. Horsley has been the editorial director of CityRealty. He began his journalistic career at The New York Times in 1961 where he spent 26 years as a reporter specializing in real estate & architectural news. In 1987, he became the architecture critic and real estate editor of The New York Post.
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