Despite efforts to get back on schedule, the Penn Access project is delayed by 6-9 months.
Photo Camille Botello
Despite efforts to speed up construction, the Penn Access project is still behind schedule, and the MTA blames Amtrak for not providing the resources required to stay on “track.”
The Penn Access project will bring four new Metro-North stations to Co-op City, Morris Park, Parkchester/Van Nest and Hunts Point, connecting the East and South Bronx neighborhoods — as well as Connecticut — to the west side of Manhattan. Most of the project takes place along a 6-mile section of the Hell Gate line, which is owned by Amtrak. The MTA says the $2.8 billion project will have the potential to reduce commutes to midtown Manhattan by up to 50 minutes.
In January, MTA representatives said the project was falling behind schedule and could potentially be delayed by 6-9 months. They blamed Amtrak for the holdup, saying the company wasn’t providing the access or resources that it committed to, particularly service outages needed for construction and “force account” staff, which references Amtrak workers that are supposed to help MTA’s labor force.
Tom McGuinness, the project executive, said in January that he believed efforts between Amtrak and MTA to recover the blow could bring the project back to its original schedule.
But his projection proved to be too hopeful. McGuinness announced on Monday that the recovery plan was unsuccessful and the projected substantial completion has indeed been pushed back to late 2027 from March 2027.
To move forward from the mess, Amtrak agreed to allow track access for workers through a 24-7 track outage that began in March and will continue until September to speed up construction.
While the outage has allowed the MTA to make progress, it won’t be enough to gain back lost time.
With the agency continuing to suffer from a lack of workforce support from Amtrak, the MTA has not been…
Read the full article here
Leave a Reply