At Emergency Meeting, WSP Called to Present Plan and New Recommendations;
WSP Says New Recommendations Enhance Program and Will Avoid Shutdown;
Chairman Ferrer Announces Four Actions as Project Moves Forward;

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) today held an emergency board meeting to brief members and the public on matters related to the  train rehabilitation. At the emergency meeting, WSP, the project designers in charge of the project, presented its new proposed plan and recommendations for rehabilitating the  train tunnel. WSP said the new enhanced recommendations will avoid a shutdown.

Acting Chairman Fernando Ferrer announced four actions MTA management is taking as the project moves forward:

• MTA Capital Construction, led by MTA Chief Development Officer Janno Lieber, will take responsibility for construction of the  Project.
• MTA Managing Director Veronique Hakim will be directly responsible for supervision of the priority project.
• A new, third party consultant will be engaged to report to the MTA Board, coordinate the construction with the ongoing train operation, and make sure the transition from construction to operation is seamless. The consultant will also review safety and environmental considerations and perform its due diligence to ensure safety and quality of service are followed.
• The MTA will launch a review of its contracting and design process and policy of requesting designs as “replace in kind,” rather than requesting improvements, innovation and new technology. The MTA will also launch a review to expand use of the design-build contracting method agency-wide.  Design-build is an innovative approach whereby a single private sector entity both designs and builds a project, paving the way for cost and time savings compared to having separate entities take on the closely related tasks.

Today’s meeting comes after an expert panel of engineers from the Cornell and Columbia Schools of Engineering, in collaboration with WSP, presented recommendations for the  Project which determined that a closure of the  Train Tunnel is unnecessary. Following the presentation, MTA leadership accepted their recommendations, which included a series of innovative engineering methods to streamline the required repair work and limit the impact on  Train service. Work could be completed on nights and weekends only, with a single tube providing continued service in both directions during work periods.

MTA Acting Chair Ferrer said: “The  Train tunnel is a vitally important project to New York City and hundreds of thousands of customers. Given the new approach to the rehabilitation of the  tunnel, I am asking the highest levels of MTA management to oversee this project and engage an independent consultant will be engaged to report to the Board and to validate the safety and longevity of the work.”

At the direction of Managing Director Hakim, New York City Transit will continue to handle subway service on the  line, public outreach, customer service, and alternate service planning and delivery tasks, both before and during the reconstruction project.

“Intensive public outreach and collaboration with stakeholders and partners such as NYCDOT, and an unprecedented focus on customer service, have been hallmarks of this project, and I know that President Byford and his excellent team will continue to deliver that critical commitment,” said Managing Director Hakim.