News
CHUGGING ALONG
August 4, 2011
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| Calvin Lee |
| The people who keep our region moving (and try to get us to work on time) joined Professional Women in Construction last week to give us a peek into where our transportation stands: (front) NJ Turnpike Authority’s Veronique Hakim, NYSDOT’s Joan McDonald, Federal Railroad Administration’s Karen Rae, (back) The Fife Group’s Bill Fife, MTA Capital Construction’s Michael Horodniceanu, NJ Transit’s James Weinstein, and PWC prez Lenore Janis. Newly appointed commissioner Joan says that projects on Long Island, NYC, and the Hudson Valley will soon go out to bid and that “transportation investments are job creators.” The NJ Turnpike Authority has no shortage of work for engineers, architects, contractors, and suppliers, thanks to its $7B capital program. |
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| NJ Transit has a $1.2B capital program for FY ’12, and despite a cut in fed funding, is increasing its state-of-good-repair investment (supported by $217M in the capital program) to keep transit infrastructure in ship-shape and modernize its fleet. Upcoming MTA contracts: the Second Avenue Subway, East Side Access, and 7 Line Extension projects. And Karen spoke about the proposed Northeast Corridor Passenger Rail Corridor Investment Plan for higher-speed services. “The goal is not just speed but travel time—connecting major population centers," she says. "[Obama] has stated he wants to connect 80% of the nation's population to rail and into these rail networks.” |
