Federal Surface Transportation Reauthorization Talks at a Standstill

New York State Transportation Agency Capital Programs at Risk

The key federal funding source for highways, bridges and mass transit capital funding expires at the end of the month with no likelihood of a long-term reauthorization. At this point, it seems most likely that Congress will extend existing legislation for one to two years, with funding formulas holding at 2005 levels.

As a result, New York State transportation agencies that planned on increased funding in the coming years with a new transportation bill, now face even deeper capital budget deficits, which will further jeopardize critical improvement and expansion projects.

Passed in 2005, the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) provides roughly $1.75 billion of the State’s highway and bridge funding annually and approximately $1 billion per year for Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) capital programs. As Lieutenant Governor Ravitch noted in a new report on the State’s transportation infrastructure, “the largest source of funds for both the MTA and State DOT capital plans is the federal government,” primarily through SAFETEA-LU.

Key Funding Issues Unresolved
In preparing five year capital plans, both the New York State Department of Transportation (State DOT) and the MTA budgeted large portions of their programs into the years 2012-14, partly in expectation that the federal government would have fully reauthorized surface transportation legislation and increased federal formulas to catch up to growing project costs and increased need.

For example, the MTA assumed an increase in federal aid of more than $750 million in the final three years of its capital plan. The MTA will now need to find this money from other sources or begin reducing the scale of its plan.

The consequences of a failure to reauthorize surface transportation are vividly reflected at State DOT, which originally assumed nearly $1 billion in new federal aid in the final three years of its five year capital plan. Due to the absence of progress on this legislation and the State’s own financial woes, State DOT simply cancelled its five-year plan and approved a two-year plan that, by its own estimates, does not maintain even the existing state of good repair.

Perhaps even more challenging, the absence of a predictable, five- to six-year funding horizon prevents long-term planning on critical projects, further delaying their implementation and increasing the ultimate cost of improvements. As Acting State DOT Commissioner Stanley Gee said in a recent letter to New York’s Congressional delegation, “Without a stable and predictable source of revenue, it becomes difficult to advance multi-year projects in an efficient and cost effective manner.”

Outlook on Reauthorization Cloudy
It is not likely that the new Congress and the President will come together on long-term reauthorization surface transportation legislation once it reconvenes in the new year. This means that extensions will likely continue to hew to 2005 funding levels until at least 2013, after the next Presidential election cycle.

It is worth noting a number of initiatives contained in the current House bill that would enhance infrastructure investment, including:

* National Infrastructure Bank. As envisioned in the House bill, a national infrastructure bank would be used to leverage other capital sources – including private sector money – through loans, guarantees and other mechanisms. The bank would be tasked with determining projects of national significance and encouraging their implementation.
* Increased funding for infrastructure. Overall, the proposed House bill recommended an increase in funding from $286 billion included in SAFETEA-LU to $450 billion. No sources for these additional funds were identified in the bill.
* More money for mass transit. In addition to restructuring initiatives to increase use of mass transit options, the House bill increased funding for capital investment in this area to $100 billion, a 90% increase over current levels.

Additionally, President Obama unveiled his own proposal to invest an additional $50 billion in new transportation initiatives in the first year of a new transportation bill, as part of an effort to stimulate spending and infrastructure investment. President Obama also supports a national infrastructure bank.

None of these ideas will be acted on without bi-partisan support. Leading Republicans on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee have expressed support for the infrastructure bank concept. However, while acknowledging the need for increased revenues for transportation, House Republicans have advocated only for “eliminating the federal gas tax and replacing it with an alternative funding mechanism.” It is worth noting that they have not, as of yet, put forward any practicable ideas for achieving new funding.

New York State could implement new policies at the State level to advance infrastructure priorities in the face of inertia at the federal level. To that end, the Building Congress submitted a white paper to Governor-elect Cuomo making several recommendations for the new administration to deliver projects more cost-effectively and provide new funds for transportation infrastructure.

WHAT YOU CAN DO:

* Contact New York State members of the House of Representatives and encourage them to get on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee to pressure both parties to reach agreement on a new surface transportation bill.
* Contact the Governor-elect and New York State legislators and urge them to take steps now to secure funding for transportation infrastructure and not wait for new federal legislation.
* Join New York Building Congress efforts to promote the importance and value of infrastructure investment in the City and State by contacting Vice President Andrew Hollweck at ahollweck@buildingcongress.com, calling 212-481-9230 or visiting www.buildingcongress.com.

PEF provides cost savings to DOT’s two-year capital plan

For Immediate Release : December 7th, 2010

Albany – The New York State Public Employees Federation (PEF) today provided examples of ways the state
can save an estimated $55.6 million to $84.3 million a year. The savings can be achieved by having state
employees do between 50 percent and 90 percent of the work currently done by more expensive private
consultants at the state Department of Transportation (DOT).

Edward Lucas, PEF Executive Board Member and DOT Civil engineer, testified at an Assembly hearing on
DOT’s two-year capital plan. Lucas provided testimony that showed how much the state can save by having
state employees do the work currently being done at a much higher cost by consultants.

“Now more than ever the state simply can’t afford to continue wasteful spending,” Lucas said. “Our research
shows the cost, on average, of a DOT engineer, including benefits, is $50.11 an hour. Comparable private
consultant engineers charge the state $82.09 or $30 more an hour,” Lucas testified.

DOT staffing levels are currently at the lowest levels in DOT history. The department lost nearly 750
employees through the retirement incentives and will shoulder more than 10 percent of Gov. David Paterson’s
December 31 layoffs. As a result of the work force reductions at DOT, the agency is increasing its reliance on
costly consultant engineers.

PEF only has data for two-thirds of the current fiscal year, but it already indicates capital projects consultant
spending is higher in three categories directly related to in-house staff employment levels.

“Consultant expenditures are approximately $10 million higher than at this time last year in the bridge
inspection, engineering supervision and material testing expenditure categories,” Lucas said.

PEF has proposed several solutions for savings at DOT and other agencies. PEF is strongly urging legislation
that will require state agencies to perform a cost-benefit analysis before entering into any consultant contract
valued at more than $500 thousand dollars. The union is calling on the Division of Budget to set savings
targets for each state agency for consultant spending and to require penalties for failure to file reports under
the contract disclosure law. PEF also issued a warning to legislators that work force reductions will further
drive up costs as agencies like DOT rely on more costly consultants and contractors.

PEF is the state’s second-largest, state-employee union, representing 58,000 professional, scientific and technical employees, including 4,000 in the New York State Department of Transportation.

Solving the MTA’s Budget Crisis and Reinvesting in Mass Transit

Solving the MTA’s Budget Crisis and Reinvesting in Mass Transit:
A Five-Step Platform for the Next Governor of New York State

A report by the Drum Major Institute & Transportation Alternatives
then link to the report which is above.

Introduction and Overview: The Problem and Five Steps for Reform
The governor and state legislature are directly responsible for the MTA’s finances: they decide how much revenue flows to the authority, and only they have the power to put the MTA on sound financial footing. While MTA executives can continue to cut costs at the margins, only a concerted plan led by the next governor can redirect investment to the state’s mass transit system and avert a fiscal disaster. A true Albany reformer willing to make tough choices would move the MTA away from costly borrowing and make smart investments that will drive renewed economic growth, boost the state’s economic competitiveness, and save taxpayers money in the long-term.

Read the entire report here: MTA

Obama Pushes Transportation Spending

by Jackie Calmes

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration said Monday that it would ask the lame-duck Congress next month to approve a $50 billion down payment on his long-range initiative to improve the nation’s roads, railways and air systems and to find savings to offset that cost, suggesting a new urgency to create jobs after last week’s disappointing unemployment report.

President Obama met at the White House with mayors, governors and current and former transportation secretaries of both parties to promote the infrastructure initiative, which he first proposed in September. Afterward, Ray LaHood, his transportation secretary and a former Republican congressman, told reporters that the lame-duck session would present an “upfront opportunity” to pass the $50 billion measure.

Before then, however, the midterm elections on Nov. 2 are all but certain to expand the size of Mr. Obama’s Republican opposition for the new Congress that convenes in January. So Republicans returning later in November for unfinished business are likely to be in no mood to compromise with the White House when they will have the strength of greater numbers in the new year.

Approving $50 billion more for construction projects would be difficult enough, given that many Democrats have shied away from supporting more economic stimulus spending and that Republicans have convinced many voters that Mr. Obama’s initial two-year stimulus program, which included roughly $40 billion for transportation projects, failed to create jobs. But trying to agree on offsetting savings also would be contentious.

“This plan will be fully paid for,” Mr. Obama told reporters in the Rose Garden. “It will not add to our deficit over time.”

In September, Mr. Obama proposed allocating $50 billion as a short-term step before creating a national infrastructure bank, which would seek public-private partnerships to invest in projects selected on merit and take some decision-making out of the hands of Congress. To raise the $50 billion, he called for ending some tax breaks for the oil industry. White House officials said he would press for action in Congress next year.

Republicans, many of whom are from energy-producing states, oppose such measures, and higher gasoline taxes too.

Mick Cornett, a Republican who is the mayor of Oklahoma City, said after the White House meeting that an administration official indicated that “they’re going to bargain it with the tax cuts in the lame-duck” session — suggesting that Mr. Obama might agree to extend the Bush tax cuts temporarily for wealthy taxpayers to get Republicans’ support for transportation money.

But administration officials and others at the bipartisan meeting said no one suggested a possible trade-off. The Bush tax rates expire Dec. 31, and Mr. Obama supports extending them for incomes below $250,000 a year, while Republicans want an extension of top rates as well.

“There was never a hint of bargaining off the administration’s position on tax cuts for infrastructure,” said Gov. Edward G. Rendell of Pennsylvania, a Democrat.

Said Norman Y. Mineta, a Democrat who served in Congress and more recently was transportation secretary in the Bush administration, “The whole issue of financing has not really been thought out.”

In any case, Congress is unlikely to take up new issues after the election.

“We will look for ways to promote jobs, and infrastructure certainly could be one of those ideas,” said a Democratic leadership aide, speaking on the condition of anonymity. “But I doubt it will be in the lame duck, and we can’t commit to a specific number or plan yet.”

The lame-duck Congress will consider reauthorizing existing transportation programs for a short time because those otherwise expire after Dec. 31. But a six-year reauthorization has been stalled because supporters on the Congressional transportation committees — including a few Republicans — say a higher gas tax is needed to maintain America’s roads, bridges, transit systems and ports. But most colleagues oppose raising the tax.

“The infrastructure needs are real,” Mr. Cornett said. “We can argue about how to pay for it. We spend $50 billion to rebuild Afghanistan. We’re reconstructing Kabul and not Philadelphia.”

The administration’s decision to seek $50 billion soon instead of waiting until early next year came as a surprise to some at the meeting. But Democrats said it reflected both concern for the economy’s weakness and the fact that the lame-duck Congress will probably have more Democratic votes than the new Congress in January.

Last Friday’s monthly jobs report confirmed a slowdown in already anemic private-sector hiring, and stoked calls from cities, states, business groups, unions and many economists for more federal help.

Mr. Obama, appearing in the Rose Garden with the other officials after their meeting, brandished a new report from his economic advisers concluding that this is the “optimal time” to invest in public works because of high unemployment and lower prices in the construction industry, which has been hit harder than any other by the punctured bubble in housing and commercial real estate.

The report said that 61 percent of new jobs would be in the construction sector, which has an unemployment rate nearly twice the overall national average of 9.6 percent.

LARRY HANLEY WINS TO BECOME ATU PRESIDENT

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 30 — New York’s own Larry Hanley, well known here as the combative President of ATU Local 726 on Staten Island, has been elected to the top job at the Amalgamated Transit Union, America’s largest union of transit workers. The vote in favor of Hanley over incumbent Ronald Heintzman was announced shortly after 1 PM at the ATU International Convention in Orlando, Florida. Taking the gavel as the ATU’s ninth International President, Hanley is expected to continue his aggressive national campaign to raise the profile of mass transit as an essential service and obtain more federal funding for bus, schoolbus, subway, light rail, paratransit, and rail operations across the United States. At the time of his run for office, Hanley was serving as a ATU International Vice President assigned to bargain and negotiate contracts for local unions across the United States.

Hanley was a driving force behind the creation of New York State’s Working Families Party in 1988 and helped get Hilary Clinton elected as a U.S. Senator from New York. His advocacy for mass transit in the state led to increases in both bus runs and members on Staten Island, doubling the size of Local 726 between 1979 and today. His candidacy was endorsed by LaborPress in August.

PEF Call for Prove of DOT

PEF calls for investigation into DOT consultant spending and conflicts of interest

Albany -The New York State Public Employees Federation (PEF) calls on the state Inspector General and the legislature to investigate the Department of Transportation (DOT) as it continues to waste millions of taxpayer
dollars hiring private consultants to do work state employees can do for much less.

“It is not uncommon for DOT regional directors, chief engineers, and other high ranking DOT management to find employment with engineering firms that receive significant consulting contracts from DOT,” said PEF President Kenneth Brynien. “This may explain why DOT has made no progress in reducing its reliance on consultant engineers.

“We are asking the Inspector General and legislature to investigate the post-state employment practices of upper DOT management to determine whether they comply with the current ethics laws and whether or not current ethics laws provide adequate protection against conflict of interests in DOT’s consultant contracting process,” Brynien said.

PEF has discovered the DOT consultants failed to account for more than $250 million of their expenditures in state fiscal year 2008-09. The department increased consultant spending by $9 million last year and $79 million since 2004.

“The DOT habitually contracts out for engineering-related expenditures, including project design, construction inspection and bridge inspection knowing it costs significantly more. The department is required by law to make its consultants disclose specific costs associated with these contracts, yet more than half of DOT consultant engineering expenditures in the last fiscal year were simply not accounted for. It’s no wonder there is a budget gap. Imagine trying to operate a business without knowing what your employees spend your money on,” said Brynien.

“Time and again, DOT has failed to reign in its wasteful spending practices. If we are ever going to get New York’s fiscal house in order, we must begin with cutting inefficient spending right in our own backyard,” said State Senator and Deputy Majority Leader Jeffrey D. Klein, Chair of the Senate Task Force on Government
Efficiency.

“For the last decade, I have been a strong advocate of replacing consultants with state employees when it can be shown to save the state money. I am particularly disappointed with the Department of Transportation’s lack of progress and failure to reduce their use of consultants,” said State Senator Neil D. Breslin.

The state is currently in one of the worse fiscal crises since the Great Depression, yet overall spending on consultants increased by more than $36.6 million last fiscal year totaling $2.925 billion.

“It is unconscionable that DOT has failed to take any meaningful steps to reduce its reliance on costly consultants even though consultants cost up to 150 percent more than state employees who do the same work,” Brynien said.
“DOT could save up to $84.3 million annually by replacing most of its engineering consultants with state employees.

“Last weekend the engineering firm hired for the $42 million Exit 6 bridge replacement project in Latham added four more consultants to cover work scheduled to be done by two state employees. The governor’s new policy eliminating most state employee overtime now means the state will spend more money on higher priced consultants to do the work state employees could have done for less,” Brynien added.

Based on what PEF has uncovered, it is clear the state could save hundreds of millions of dollars by performing cost-benefit analysis prior to contracting out for consultant services. PEF is encouraging the passage of the cost-benefit bill (A9934/S7011) introduced by Assembly Member Susan John and Senator Jeffrey Klein. The bill requires agencies to perform a cost-benefit analysis prior to contracting out for consultant services in excess of $500,000 annually.

PEF’s examination of DOT consultant engineering contracts shows that DOT wastes million in every region of the state. Below are just a few examples of expenditures for bridge inspections or design services in the last fiscal year 2008-09:

Capital District – Civil Engineering bridge inspection work billed at $112 per hour for a total of $1.2 million. We estimate that DOT engineers could have done the work for $536,000 for a savings of almost $700,000. (Contract #D030511 for Bi-annual and interim bridge inspection in Capital District).

Mohawk Valley – Civil Engineering bridge inspection work billed at $86.02 per hour for a total of $799,000. We estimate that DOT engineers could have done the work for $463,000 for a savings over $300,000. (Contract #D030512 for Bi-annual and interim bridge inspection in the Mohawk Valley region).

Central NY – Civil Engineering for design services work billed at $97.62 per hour for a total of $304,000. We estimate that DOT engineers could have done the work for $155,000 for a savings of nearly $150,000. (Contract #D025401 design work related to rehab of three bridges and I-81 in central NY).

Genesee Valley – Civil Engineering bridge inspection work billed at $103 per hour for a total of $513,000. We estimate that DOT engineers could have done the work for $246,000 for a savings of $266,000. (Contract #D030514 for Bridge Inventory and Biannual Bridge Inspection in the Genesee Valley).

Western NY – Civil Engineering for design services work billed at $95.03 per hour for a total of $302,000. We estimate that DOT engineers could have done the work for $158,000 for a savings of nearly $143,000. (Contract #D025601 for design work including rehab of bridge ramp for NY RT 33).

Central Southern Tier – Civil Engineering bridge inspection work billed at $90.77 per hour for a total of almost $300,000. We estimate that DOT engineers could have done the work for $166,000 for a savings of $133,000. (Contract #D030516 for Biannual Bridge Inspections in the Central Southern Tier).

North Country – Civil Engineering design services billed at $98.06 per hour for a total of $230,000. We estimate that DOT engineers could have done the work for $117,000 for a savings of $113,000. (Contract #D015454 for design work in North Country).

Hudson Valley – Civil Engineering bridge inspection work billed at $97.16 per hour for a total of $1.33 million. We estimate that DOT engineers could have done the work for $724,000 for a savings of $614,000. (Contract #D030517 for Bi-annual and interim bridge inspection in the Hudson Valley).

Southern Tier – Civil Engineering bridge inspection work billed at $92.17 per hour for a total of $1.7 million. We estimate that DOT engineers could have done the work for $870,000 for a savings of $824,000. (Contract #D030518 for Bridge Inspections in Southern Tier).

Long Island – Civil Engineering bridge inspection work billed at $130.50 per hour for a total of $613,000. We estimate that DOT engineers could have done the work for $234,000 for a savings of $378,000. (Contract #D015612 for Bridge Inspections in Long Island region).

New York City – Civil Engineering bridge inspection work billed at $100 per hour for a total of $3.4 million. We estimate that DOT engineers could have done the work for $1.7 million for a savings of $1.7 million. (Contract #D015608 & D015610 for Bi-annual and interim bridge inspection in the Bronx and Queens).

Using just this small sample, the state could have had an additional $5.3 million to use on road and bridge maintenance and repair if DOT engineers were used rather than costly consultants.

PEF is the state’s second-largest state-employee union, representing 58,000 professional, scientific and technical employees.

Read the Fisch letter: Fisch

Read the Consultant Disclosure: Consultant

Traffic, revenue down for Port Authority

Recession inflicts harm on facilities in third quarter

by Judy Rife

NEW YORK — Traffic — and revenue — continued to decline at the Port Authority’s transportation facilities through the third quarter, a reflection of the national and global recession.

We “are not recession-proof and our numbers are down across the board,” said Chris Ward, the Port Authority’s executive director. “That is why we must continue to cut costs and prioritize projects to live within our means.”

The region’s other transportation agencies, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, NJ Transit and the New York State Thruway Authority, made similar reports at mid-year.

The recession’s impact is most readily seen at the Port Authority’s six bi-state crossings, where truck traffic is down 10.4 percent over the first nine months of last year — a loss of $20 million in tolls.

Truck traffic, the biggest generator of tolls, usually increases mid-year as retail and manufacturing outlets prepare for the holiday season, but volume has dropped steadily since January.

Traffic at crossings falls 2.1%

Overall traffic at the George Washington Bridge, Lincoln Tunnel and other crossings declined 2.1 percent, to 91.2 million vehicles. The Holland and Lincoln tunnels accounted for about half of the decline, reflecting, in part, job losses in Manhattan.

Similarly, PATH ridership declined 4 percent, to 54.1 million customers from 56.4 million in the first nine months of 2008, as employment in the financial district contracted.

The recession’s global reach, the Port Authority said, is demonstrated by the decline in traffic at its airports, which in turn affects travel and tourism throughout the region.

Overall passenger volume was down 6.4 percent through the third quarter, with domestic travel dropping 6.9 percent and international travel, 5.2 percent.

The agency, which receives no tax money from either New York or New Jersey, relies on revenue from tolls, fares and fees to operate its bridges, tunnels, airports, terminals and the PATH system.

DiNAPOLI AUDIT PROBES USE OF SERVICE CONTRACTORS AT MTA

Personal, Miscellaneous Contracts Cost MTA Nearly $3 Billion Since 2005

New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli today released an audit that found the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) needs to improve its process for approving personal and miscellaneous services contracts, which have consumed up to 15 percent of the MTA’s annual operating budget in recent years. The audit found that the cost of such contracts increased to $881 million in 2008 from $315 million in 2006.

During the four-year period examined by the audit, the MTA awarded thousands of contracts worth approximately $2.9 billion for outsourced services, including engineering and architecture, waste management, consulting and information technology. Auditors found that the MTA could not show that awarded contracts were always the most cost-effective option. The MTA also lacked a process to periodically determine whether these contracts were still necessary or if they could be suspended or scaled back to help manage fiscal constraints.

“The MTA has raised fares and received more tax dollars to cover its deficits and debt,” DiNapoli said. “At the same time, the MTA expanded its use of personal service contracts without a thorough evaluation of the need or cost-effectiveness of those contracts. Now more than ever, every dime counts, and the MTA needs to manage public resources more carefully. Consultant contracts should only be used when absolutely necessary, and there has to be documented justification of that need.”

DiNapoli’s auditors found that the MTA contracted for some services that would appear to be within their in-house capabilities. In such cases, the MTA should consistently document the need to contract out for such services. For example, MTA awarded 244 contracts totaling $513.6 million for engineering and architecture services, 387 contracts totaling $203.9 million for maintenance services, 183 contracts worth $149.5 million for consulting services, and 46 contracts $99 million for waste removal. The MTA also awarded contracts for real estate management, tree trimming and bus engine repair, despite the existence of in-house staff that perform similar services.

The audit recommended that the MTA look at the potential for cost savings by eliminating contracts for outside services. By way of illustration, the audit noted that a 10-percent dollar reduction in consultant contracts, the goal Governor Paterson set for state agencies and public authorities, would save $176 million.

The DiNapoli audit also found that:

MTA records showed that the agency initiated or completed consultant contracts valued in excess of $4.5 billion between January 1, 2005 and October 16, 2008;

Spending on miscellaneous contracts consistently exceeds $1 billion per year and is rapidly approaching $2 billion per year;

The value of awarded contracts nearly tripled between 2006 and the first 10 months of 2008, while the actual number of contracts declined by 35 percent during the same period;

New York City Transit alone accounted for 776 contracts worth $1.8 billion during the audit period; and,

Nearly one-quarter of all service contracts were non-competitive, including awards to sole contractors and well as emergency purchases.

The audit recommends that the separate constituent agencies of the MTA:

Improve documentation of compliance with the MTA’s “All Agency Guidelines for Procurement of Services” by determining whether agencies can collaborate on contracts, or fulfill their needs by using another agency’s in-house expertise or existing contract;

Periodically re-evaluate personal and miscellaneous contracts after they begin; and,

Take steps to scale back or suspend reliance on service contracts, where appropriate.

The MTA agreed with most of the audit’s findings, and announced the creation of a subcommittee on service contracts usage shortly after the start of the audit process in November 2008. This audit is part of DiNapoli’s ongoing efforts to closely monitor the financial operations of the MTA. Since 2007, DiNapoli has released nine other audits on the MTA as well as six reports on MTA finances and policy. There are several other MTA audits underway.

Click here to view the audit and MTA response.

$1.5 BILLION IN STIMULUS MONEY CURRENTLY APPROVED FOR NYC TRANSPORTATION PROJECTS, BUT LITTLE ACTUALLY SPENT TO DATE

FULTON STREET TRANSIT CENTER AND SECOND AVENUE SUBWAY TO RECEIVE LION’S SHARE OF FEDERAL STIMULUS DOLLARS

A total of $1.57 billion in federal stimulus dollars has been approved to date for transportation capital projects in the five boroughs of New York City. Another $1 billion in transportation projects are likely to be approved for stimulus funding, according to a New York Building Congress analysis. However, an analysis of project data provided by the New York Metropolitan Transportation Council (NYMTC), also found that virtually all of the approved capital funding has yet to be spent.

A little less than half of the stimulus dollars approved thus far will go to support New York City Transit’s work on the Fulton Street Transit Center and the Second Avenue Subway. A total of $423.4 million will flow toward Fulton Street via the rehabilitation of the 4/5 and A/C subway mezzanines and construction on Dey Street and the Corbin Building. A total of $276 million has been approved for ongoing construction of the Second Avenue Subway. Of that, $197 million is devoted to construction of the 96th Street subway station.

Overall, New York City Transit, which is operated by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, has been approved for $1.2 billion in stimulus funds. In addition to the Fulton Street and Second Avenue projects, most of the remaining funds are dedicated to the rehabilitation of existing stations throughout the system.

The New York City Department of Transportation (NYCDOT) has been approved for $282 million in stimulus funds. Of that total, $175 million will be used to replace the 60-year-old bus ramps at the St. George Ferry terminal on Staten Island. Other NYCDOT projects to receive stimulus funding include work on or around the Brooklyn Bridge and the Bruckner Expressway. New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) projects approved for New York City total $81.1 million.

While considerable funding has been made available to New York City, and 44 projects already have been approved, very little stimulus money has actually been spent to date, according to the Office of State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli. In fact, no federal dollars have yet been expended by either New York City Transit or the NYCDOT.

While there is no breakdown to date on NYSDOT expenditures, statewide, the agency has spent $278 million, which represents just six percent of the total federal stimulus dollars spent statewide in the current fiscal year.

“The transportation projects slated for stimulus funding present a positive blend of mass transit and surface transportation projects intended to maintain and expand the system,” noted Building Congress President Richard T. Anderson. “What is of great concern, however, is the slow pace of these projects. It has been almost six months since Congress and the Obama administration approved the stimulus package, yet close to nothing has been expended on the capital side.”

Mr. Anderson continued, “We have seen a good deal of spending on workforce programs and health and social services, all of which are important. Unfortunately, those expenditures do not provide the same bang for the stimulus buck as direct construction spending, which creates jobs and revenues while pumping money into the broader economy. It is incumbent upon our elected leaders and agency heads to get these dollars flowing directly into the projects already approved and likely to be approved in the coming months.”

According to State officials, of the $314M in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) highway and bridge funding committed to the New York City area, $215 million has been allocated to projects under the jurisdiction of New York City DOT, while $99 million is allocated to State DOT projects in the City. To spend these funds, projects must follow a mandatory federal process that includes unprecedented transparency and accountability requirements. Governor Paterson and the NYSDOT are working with local agencies to advance eligible projects, more than half of which are being undertaken by local municipalities, and create jobs more quickly.

A new report from the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials ranked the condition of New York’s major roads as 43rd in the nation. The study measured the vibration of cars while driving on the country’s major roads, but did not factor in traffic or potholes. In New York, 22 percent of roads were ranked poor and 35 percent were rated good.

Read the full report (PDF file):  Rough Roads