MTA Halts Work on Second Avenue Subway Extension Due to Funding Uncertainty
The long-anticipated extension of the Second Avenue Subway to Harlem’s East 125th Street will now be further delayed due to decisions by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) to halt construction, as the agency shifts its focus to only “performing capital work that keeps the system running.” The “high-profile project is among nearly 100 transit upgrades relying on $10 billion in federal dollars that the state must locally match — a funding stream in jeopardy after Gov. Kathy Hochul’s indefinite pause on the implementation of congestion pricing.” Since the MTA was relying on the money that the congestion pricing tolls would have generated to use for the required matching funds to tap into billions in federal funds, it brings a halt to the up to $9.9 billion in funds allocated by the Federal Transit Administration that the MTA would otherwise have been able to tap into, which would have further helped pay for the subway extension and other projects. Kate Slevin, executive vice president of the Regional Plan Association (RPA) reportedly stated, “The loss of congestion pricing has ripple effects beyond just what we know now, in terms of federal aid, construction jobs, air quality and public health. There’s just a huge amount of uncertainty around what this means, but what we do know is the magnitude of the problems that are created without congestion pricing revenue.”