Officials announce almost $275 million for New York transit projects

U.S. Senators Charles E. Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, Congressman Jerry Nadler and Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney said that the United States Department of Transportation will allocate more than $274 million under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for the Long Island Rail Road East Side Access Project and the Second Avenue Subway Project. The East Side Access Project will create a rail link from the Long Island Rail Road via the 63rd Street Tunnel to Grand Central Station that will help tens of thousands of Nassau, Suffolk and Queens commuters save hours on their daily commutes. The Second Avenue Subway Project will help to ease congestion on the Lexington Avenue line, the most crowded subway line in the nation.  

"This funding is a
win-win for all New York straphangers," said Schumer. "Both East Side
Access and the Second Avenue Subway will meet commuter needs that have existed
for far too long here in New York. These funds will help Long Island and New
York City improve transportation options and spur economic growth in the
process"

"These federal dollars
are vital to economic development of the East Side and growth of the
communities along the LIRR," said Senator Gillibrand, a member of the
Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. "By building the sorely needed
Second Avenue Subway we will not only reduce commuting times for thousands of
New Yorkers, but we will create jobs for our City. The East Side Access Project
will give Long Islanders see less crowded trains and a better route into the
City. New York needs all the federal dollars we can get to help support the
State’s infrastructure and create jobs for our communities. I will continue to
work with Senator Schumer to ensure that New York receives its fair share."

"In a period of tremendous
economic uncertainty, these major infrastructure projects are among the best
tools at our disposal for getting New Yorkers back to work, creating economic
development, and improving the efficiency of our region’s transportation
network," said Nadler. "The Second Avenue Subway and East Side Access are
important and overdue New York infrastructure projects, and this $275 million
will bring us an important step closer to their realization. I will continue to
fight for more transit funds for these and other important initiatives."

"New Yorkers are going to
win twice with this announcement: This stimulus funding will create good jobs
now and build transit improvements that New Yorkers can use for generations to
come," said Rep. Maloney. "Today is a great day for New York commuters-and it
will be again on the first day of operation of these two projects, which will
move more people than the entire transit systems of most other major American
cities.  I am thrilled that the Second Avenue Subway and East Side Access,
which are the largest construction projects of their kind in the country and
are located in my Congressional district, are getting a timely boost from the
stimulus program-just as the stimulus was intended to do."

The Long Island Rail Road
East Side Access Project has been awarded $195.4 million. East Side Access will
significantly reduce the bottleneck on the City’s subways and buses between
Penn Station and Grand Central Station, particularly the 1,2,3,7,9, A, C and E
subway lines, as well as the shuttle trains between Grand Central and Time
Square.

The Second Avenue Subway
Project has been awarded $78.9 million. The project will ease congestion on the
Lexington Avenue line, the most crowded subway line in the nation. The Second
Avenue line is expected to generate 7.5 million new riders every year and take
340,000 current riders from the Lexington Avenue Line.