(Newsday posted the following article by Joie Tyrrell on its website on July 21.)
NEW YORK — In a significant step toward building a third track on the Long Island Rail Road’s Main Line, Metropolitan Transportation Authority officials agreed to hire a consultant for $4 million for the project yesterday.
Supporters of the project say a third track on the 101/2 miles stretching from Bellerose to Hicksville will boost service and provide greater reverse-commuting options. In addition to adding the track and more service on the Main Line to Ronkonkoma and the Port Jefferson branch, the project also would mean the elimination of five grade crossings in Mineola, New Hyde Park and Westbury and substantial station rehabilitation along the Main Line.
“I would hope that by the fact they are going ahead and hiring a consultant that they are moving in the right direction for something that is sorely needed,” said LIRR Commuter’s Council Chairman James McGovern.
LIRR President James Dermody said at an MTA meeting in Manhattan yesterday that the consultant, DMJM+Harris of Manhattan, will analyze the scope, design, cost and impact of the project and prepare an environmental statement that is necessary for the LIRR to receive federal funding.
But finding funding for construction of the project is another matter. The MTA is facing potential extensive deficits in the future and federal funding remains in question as well.
According to Kate Slevin of the Tri-State Transportation Campaign, an advocacy group that recently announced the formation of a coalition supporting the third track, “hiring a consultant just means the environmental review will get done, it doesn’t mean that the project will get done … even though it is one of the most important projects for Long Island.”
The hire was approved by the LIRR committee of the MTA yesterday and is expected to be passed by the full MTA board next week.
The LIRR has included the project in its 2005-2009 capital program, which must be approved by the MTA and is expected to be released publicly next week. Dermody declined to say what other projects will be in the capital program and he remained mum when asked about next year’s operating budget.
MTA executive director Katie Lapp had asked all agencies, including the LIRR, to look for “internal efficiencies and other measures” to close a 2005 gap of $540 million that could grow past $1 billion in 2006. Details are expected to be released next week.
In other news from the meeting, Dermody said summer track work scheduled to be complete by September will have to be finished next year.
The $34 million worth of work includes rebuilding a major routing system east of Jamaica called the Queens Interlocking and replacing 3,000 wooden ties with concrete ones on the Port Washington branch.
Railroad officials said the ties will be finished by the end of this summer. The installation of new switches and signals at Queens Interlocking won’t be complete until next year because of a delay in receiving software to run the system, and the railroad won’t be able to fully test it this year.
The Queens Interlocking is where the Hempstead branch meets the Main Line. It is also where the railroad lines up the trains on their westbound approach to Jamaica.
Spokesman Brian Dolan said yesterday it’s too early to tell what the service impact will be next summer but “there will be temporary service changes next summer when we cut over to the new signal system. We are evaluating next summer’s program now.”