Building Congress Event
CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY BREAKFAST FORUM
Lhota Discusses MTA Expansion & Priorities at Forum on April 3
Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) Chairman and CEO Joseph J. Lhota updated 400 building industry leaders on the MTA's ongoing expansion projects as well as his priorities for the coming years, during a New York Building Congress Breakfast Forum at the Hilton New York on April 3.
Mr. Lhota said that each of the four projects – the Second Avenue Subway, the extension of the #7 line, the Fulton Street Transit Center and East Side Access to Grand Central Terminal – are all moving forward according to plans. He thanked Building Congress leadership and its members for their tenacious advocacy in Albany, which he said was instrumental in getting the State Legislature's approval on a plan to fully-fund the final three years of the MTA's $22 billion, five-year capital program.
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"Our transit system enabled the area to grow," Mr. Lhota said, adding, "The rebuilding of the City's transit system went hand in hand with the region's economic resurgence. We now have 7.7 million riders a day."
Looking ahead, Mr. Lhota said the MTA will be focused on ways to accommodate the 1.8 million new residents that are expected to live in New York City by 2035. "The only way that estimate is going to become a reality is if our transit system continues to expand," he said. "If you want to meet the growth that's expected, we're going to need champions like you."
He noted the need to expand capacity on existing subway lines, which can be accomplished in part by upgrading the 70-year-old signal system in order to permit additional trains. He also said the MTA is looking to expand subway stations in neighborhoods that have experienced rapid residential growth in recent years.
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During a question-and-answer period with Building Congress President Richard T. Anderson, Mr. Lhota expressed his support for an Amtrak proposal to construct a tunnel under the Hudson River to provide additional capacity for New Jersey residents working in Manhattan. He indicated that the $13.5 billion tunnel, which would increase commuter capacity by 65 percent, would be more feasible than a separate proposal to extend the #7 subway line into New Jersey.
Prior to Mr. Lhota's featured remarks, Kyu-Jung Whang, Vice President of Facilities Services for Cornell University, provided a brief update on Cornell's plans to create an Applied Sciences campus on Roosevelt Island. He told those assembled that Cornell is currently in the process of selecting an architect and a construction manager for the campus' first building.
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