The MTA’s big dig

Written by Jim Cameron
Monday, 16 November 2009 19:32

We all know what happened when Boston decided to bury its downtown elevated interstate highway, known as the central artery. What was intended to be a seven-year, $2.5-billion project became a 10-year, $14.6-billion engineering nightmare.

Well, heads up fellow commuters and taxpayers. New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) (parent of Metro-North) has similar designs on our beloved Grand Central Station. Nicknamed the “East Side Access” project, the goal is to bring the Long Island Railroad (LIRR) into Grand Central.

The plan would use the lower level of the already built 63rd St. subway tunnel, allowing some LIRR trains from Queens to enter Manhattan and then follow a new, very deep tunnel under existing Metro-North tracks beneath Park Avenue. Trains would terminate 14 stories under Grand Central on eight tracks, with up to 24 trains arriving per hour. Exiting passengers — an estimated 162,000 per day (compared with the 115,000 who arrive and depart from Connecticut) — would be whisked upward on high-speed escalators, to the west side of Grand Central Terminal (GCT), into an underground concourse complex stretching from 43rd to 48th streets.

Estimated cost for the project — $8 billion — about the same as rebuilding the entire World Trade Center complex. Actual cost, factoring in inevitable delays (they’re already a year behind schedule), cost overruns and typical underestimation by politically sensitive designers … who knows, maybe double that? And for what gain?

The only reason for the East Side Access project is to give LIRR riders better access to midtown. Is the subway-ride connection from Penn Station to GCT really all that bad? Imagine what we could do with $8 billion to improve commuter rail service in the tristate region.

What would an almost doubling of passengers in GCT (by adding LIRR to existing Metro-North riders) mean for Connecticut commuters? Well, if you think the station’s crowded now, you ain’t seen nothing yet. And just imagine the already jam-packed Lexington Avenue subway station with even more riders.

The currently underutilized GCT quickly would be “maxed out” for trains and platforms, making much-needed expansion of service to Connecticut a real problem.

True, diverting some LIRR trains into GCT might free up “slots” in Penn Station for Metro-North trains, which would travel there by way of the Hell Gate Bridge; but don’t count on it, what with New Jersey Transit, Amtrak and LIRR also vying for more trains in Penn Station.

If all of this concerns you, don’t get your knickers in a knot. There’s nothing you can do to stop it. The money has already been appropriated, and the project should be finished in 2015.

What role did Connecticut play in this boondoggle? Zero … nada … zilch. New York’s MTA didn’t ask our opinion or seek our approval. Though the Connecticut Department of Transportation is Metro-North’s biggest customer, our state still has no seat, no vote and no say on the MTA or Metro-North boards. Governor M. Jodi Rell said she’d change that but never did.

Connecticut commuters pay the bills; and New York’s MTA calls the tune, building a really “big dig” that benefits Long Island but penalizes us. What’s wrong with this picture?

Editor’s Note: For more information on the East Side Access Project, see http://www.mta.nyc.ny.us/capconstr/esas/index.html .

Jim Cameron has been a commuter out of Darien for 18 years. He is chairman of the CT Metro-North / Shore Line East Rail Commuter Council, and a member of the Coastal Corridor TIA and the Darien RTM. You can reach him at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or trainweb.org/ct . For a full collection of “Talking Transportation” columns, see talkingtransportation.blogspot.com.