MTA hires former NTSB managing director as first head of safety; board to consider contract for pocket track and bridge replacement

Written by Jenifer Nunez, assistant editor
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MTA

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has named David Mayer as the agency's new chief safety officer.

The new position was created to reinforce safety as the top priority for all MTA agencies as they continue to improve work practices and invest in new technology and equipment.

“Having someone to oversee and lead safety initiatives throughout the system can only enhance and improve our efforts,” said MTA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Thomas Prendergast. “David’s experience with the National Transportation Safety Board and exceptional work on safety projects in all modes of transportation makes him the best person for the job.”

Mayer will begin at MTA December 1 and will report directly to the chairman and CEO. He will work closely with Metro-North Railroad Chief Safety Officer Anne Kirsch, Long Island Rail Road Chief Safety Officer Loretta Ebbighausen, New York City Transit Vice President System Safety Cheryl Kennedy, Vice President Safety Programs and Initiatives at MTA Bridges and Tunnels James Foley and MTA Capital Construction Vice President of Safety Peter Kohner. They will continue to monitor the condition of crews and equipment at their respective agencies, reporting to their agency’s president.

“I’m excited to join a transportation network that is focused on promoting a safety culture while constantly looking for ways to improve its practices. I look forward to the challenge of proactively serving a population of more than 15 million people,” said Mayer.

Mayer began his career at the National Transportation Safety Board in 1991 in the Office of Research and Engineering. In 2001, he was named assistant managing director and then promoted to nanaging director in 2009.

In other news, the Long Island Committee of the MTA Board approved an initial $24.9-million contract for the extension of a pocket track east of the Long Island Rail Road’s Great Neck Station and the replacement of the 115-year- old Colonial Road Bridge, a three-year project and key component of the LIRR’s East Side Access Readiness Plan.

The contract now goes to the full MTA Board, which is scheduled to take up the matter at its meeting October 29, 2014. The project is scheduled for completion in 2017 with the pocket track to cost an estimated $25.2 million and the new bridge $19.9 million for a total estimated cost of $45.1 million. The balance of the budget represents the cost of work that will be done by LIRR employees in the construction of the pocket track including utility relocation and power, signal, and switch installation.

LIRR is asking the MTA Board to award the contract to Railroad Construction Company, Inc., following a competitive process in which six firms submitted bids in response to a request for proposals issued in January. LIRR officials said Railroad Construction Company, a firm that has served rail industry since 1926, offered the best technical plan and the lowest price.

The new pocket track will extend an existing storage track to accommodate an additional 12-car train. Once complete, it will enable LIRR to increase the number of trains it can turn at Great Neck, provide better rush-hour service, as well as seat availability from Great Neck and stations west of Great Neck.

The Colonial Road Bridge, built in 1897, crosses over the LIRR track a half mile east of Great Neck Station in the Village of Thomaston. Maintenance of the bridge is the sole responsibility of LIRR, whose engineering staff determined the structure is at the end of its useful life.

The new bridge will meet New York State Department of Transportation standards, which means wider travel vehicular travel lanes and improved pedestrian sidewalk. The project will also involve the construction of a new drainage system at track level that will eliminate a flooding problem that often hampers train service and include a retaining wall and landscaping which together will act as a sound barrier between the LIRR right-of-way and the local neighborhood.

 

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