New York City's Very Big Digs

More than 9 million passengers ride the New York City metropolitan area’s bus, subway and commuter rail systems each day. This article describes how the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is accommodating its current ridership and preparing for future growth through several megaprojects. These projects include a 1.5 mile extension of one subway line, the construction of the first new major subway line since 1932, a transit center that will serve 300,000 passengers daily, and a new eight-track commuter rail terminal. In addition, a new subway station was recently completed that accommodates many of the visitors to the Statue of Liberty. Another project to construct tunnels under the Hudson River was recently canceled due to budgetary constraints. The MTA has set up a separate construction company to handle the remaining megaprojects. Each of these projects represent decades of planning, but funding their completion without the MTA taking on an unsustainable level of debt risk remains a challenge.