Passage of the trillion-dollar infrastructure bill has regions across the country confronting long to-do lists and assessing what projects will take off and in what order.
Chugging Forward
Transit is of course high on the wish list for many in the New York region. It’s anticipated that federal funding will advance the extension of Manhattan’s Second Avenue subway line (aka the Q Train) as well as the construction of a new rail tunnel connecting New York and New Jersey. As The New York Times reports, other projects are likely to include:
- Repair of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, which is “crumbling under the weight of more than 150,000 vehicles a day.”
- As many as 60 bridge projects in New Jersey, home to some of the busiest highways in the country.
- Attention to the Metro-North passenger line, including the crucial—and 120-year-old—Walk Bridge in Norwalk, Connecticut.
- Acceleration of a shift to electric buses by New Jersey Transits, as well as replacement f old school buses which generate harmful emissions.
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Transformational?
Though not all the projects on public wishlists will be funded by federal infrastructure dollars, The New York Times reports that the new bill “has the potential to transform New York City and its surrounding region.” Examples of important work looking forward include:
Plans to “cap” the Cross Bronx Expressway — cover those parts of the highway that are sunken below street level — and perhaps cover it with a park. Built-in the 1950 and 1960s, the Robert Moses-era highway displaced Black families and ripped a hole through several neighborhoods.
Proponents of the plan say it would address air pollution in the Bronx and help protect against severe flooding.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which operates New York’s subways, buses and two commuter-rail networks, expects to receive $10 billion, and it plans to use some of the money to make the system more accessible. Currently, only about a quarter of New York City’s 472 subway stations are wheelchair-accessible.
The bill could also improve Long Island Rail Road station capacity at Jamaica in Queens and eliminate the “Jamaica Crawl.” Hundreds of thousands of riders a day pass through the station, which was built more than 100 years ago and where a tangle of different train lines come together.
Staying On Track
Bid bonds, performance bonds and payment bonds have long served to advance and safeguard public building projects across the country. That doesn’t mean obtaining bonds has to be slow, though: Colonial Surety’s a direct writer—so we can speed everything up. We underwrite construction companies based on the power of their financial statements, giving qualified builders power of attorney to issue their own bid bonds, and more. Let’s think big—and act fast—together. Complete the pre-qualification for your written surety-line of credit and The Partnership Account® services today—and receive, for free, Dun & Bradstreet scores. Pre-Qualify and Get Free Scores Here.
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