“These are expensive projects. There’s no question. But if we are to reap the benefits of mass transit, we have to provide mass transit that is attractive to individual travelers and their families,” said Rick Cotton, the executive director at the Port Authority, without explaining the rise in cost. “Experience shows that rail mass transit is the most attractive alternative, and we’re committed to provided that.” — AM New York
While the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey works to implement an $8 billion overhaul of LaGuardia Airport, costs for a planned AirTrain link connecting the airport to regional mass transit continue to grow.
According to AM New York, when first proposed in 2014, the two-mile monorail was projected to cost $450 million to build. Now, five years later, the cost has ballooned to $2.05 billion, a 356-percent increase. Officials have not explained the reasons behind the sharp increase, but have indicated that most of the increases will come out of the Port Authority's coffers.
If completed as planned, the two-mile AirTrain line could connect the Willets Point Long Island Rail Road and the No. 7 subway to the airport, establishing the first public transit link to LaGuardia.
The cost increase comes as new renderings are unveiled for the LaGuardia Airport expansion by the project team.
The LaGuardia Gateway Partners, a group that includes Skanska, HOK, WSP USA, Vantage Airport Group, and others, completed work on the a new 243,000-square-foot terminal for the project in late 2018, Curbed reports. A second 105,000-square-foot concourse is expected to open this fall.
The overall project is scheduled for completion by 2020.
1 Comment
You think a quadrupling of the price is crazy? Just wait until they actually build it.
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