New subway stations will be built in New York: the branch will be the most expensive in the world

This month, the feds will deliver on promises made by 45th President Donald Trump to former Gov. Andrew Cuomo to extend the Second Avenue subway line in East Harlem after more than two years delay. NY Daily News.

A January 6 letter from the Federal Transportation Administration (FTA), obtained by the Daily News via a freedom of information request, said the feds plan to pay $3,4 billion for the $6,3 billion cost of the expansion.

The FTA has announced that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) may begin some work on the expansion and move on to the penultimate phase of approval by the federal agency, called "engineering."

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Cuomo and Trump agreed in August 2019 to increase the federal budget for this work from $2 billion to $3,4 billion.

But the higher federal share was never reflected in the FTA survey. And MTA sources speculated the failure was due to malfeasance Trump or federal violations during his rule.

Cost and scope of work

The project will extend Line Q from its northern terminus at 96th Street and Second Avenue 2,5 km to 125th Street and Lexington Avenue. The cost of the work is $ 3,9 billion per 1,5 km. This, according to researchers from the Marron Institute of New York University, is the highest cost per 1,5 km among all expansion projects. Metro in the history of the world.

FTA officials note that MTA officials have a lot of work to do before getting final approval for $3,4 billion. The federal authorities were not satisfied with the MTA's long-term financial outlook and pointed to holes in the agency's revenue streams. They question its ability to "maintain a state of appropriate repair" for new paths.

This will be the largest construction grant

If $3,4 billion is approved, it would be the largest building grant ever authorized by the FTA. They will beat the record $2,6 billion federally earmarked in 2006 for the MTA's East Side Access project due to open in December.

The Second Avenue branch is expected to take at least seven years to build, and the final approval of the money is unlikely to happen until 2023.

3,4 billion dollars will begin to be paid in installments in the amount of not more than 516 million dollars a year. Accelerated distribution will not be possible due to "other major projects in the Capital Region requiring CIG (Capital Investment Grant) funding at the same time."

New York and New Jersey are seeking an even larger $5,5 billion grant from the FTA to build two new rail tunnels under the Hudson River. Their total cost is expected to be $11,6 billion.