MTA Calls for $6.9B to Pay for Capital Projects

NEW YORK CITY-Citing concerns about an under-funded capital program for the New York metropolitan region, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority proposed a financial strategy at its Wednesday morning board meeting to increase its debt plan to $6.9 billion for its 2010-2014 capital projects budget, while retiring $6.2 billion of existing debt this year. The move comes on the heels of ongoing mega-projects such as the expansion of the Long Island Rail Road to Grand Central Station, the 7 subway line extension to Manhattan’s Far West Side and the Fulton Street Transit Hub, which are all under construction.

The plan is comprised of a $3 billion federal loan from the Railroad Rehabilitation & Improvement Financing (RRIF) program, $2.2 billion of which would be used for new expenditures; and a $4.7 billion bond issue that would be reallocated to support existing debt. The program–with no new taxes or fare increases–will utilize longer maturity bonds and flexible terms, which the MTA says “are appropriate for new infrastructure projects that have very long, useful lives.”