Feds award N.Y. $886M for Sandy repair work

The U.S. Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT) awarded approximately $886 million to help the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) continue rebuilding and replacing transportation equipment and facilities damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Sandy, which triggered the worst transit disaster in U.S. history.

“The U.S. Department of Transportation has worked alongside the New York MTA since Hurricane Sandy made landfall to help the nation’s busiest transit network recover as quickly as possible,” said Secretary Foxx. “The funds we are providing today will go a long way to help the MTA continue clearing debris from tunnels, rebuilding stations, and replacing electrical systems damaged by flooding, giving transit riders a transit system that is stronger than ever before.”

The funds reimburse the MTA for work that is already underway and also enable future projects to be completed. The announcement allows MTA to begin drawing down an additional $886 million from the $3.8 billion FTA had allocated to the MTA for Sandy-related work.

MTA will use the funds to complete hundreds of projects in the following categories:

• Rail Support and Equipment Facilities Repair: $535 million for critical repairs primarily to three damaged under-river tunnels—Greenpoint, Montague and Steinway.

• Electrical and Power Distribution Repair: $138.9 million to restore damaged substations and power infrastructure for the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) and Metro-North Railroad.

• Signal and Communication Repair: $88.1 million to repair essential communications and signal equipment for Metro-North (system wide) and LIRR’s Long Beach Branch and Westside storage yard.

• Transitway Line Restoration: $91.5 million to restore damaged rights of way on the Metro-North Harlem, Hudson and New Haven Lines; and for design services to make long-term repairs to damaged assets.

• Rail Stations, Stops and Terminals: $32 million to repair to stations, employee facilities, and fare collection equipment for both rail and bus facilities.

For all transit agencies eligible to receive Hurricane Sandy aid, FTA has allocated approximately 55% of the $10.35 billion available through the Disaster Relief Appropriations Act of 2013 after a nearly $545 million cut due to sequestration. Approximately $4 billion worth of work is already under way.