Subway bids opened today - PittsburghLIVE.com
Even before Allegheny County officials open the first bids today on a $393 million project to bring subway service to the North Shore, critics are warning it might cost too much money to build a tunnel that won't meet the area's greatest transportation need.
Tuesday, August 16, 2005
Subway bids opened today, County Executive shows he is weak.
Dan Onorato was interviewed on KQV radio today talking about how he didn't really want to build the connector under the river. But it only said that he was weak. The backbone is wishy-washy.
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Subway bids opened today
North Shore Connector
Even before Allegheny County officials open the first bids today on a $393 million project to bring subway service to the North Shore, critics are warning it might cost too much money to build a tunnel that won't meet the area's greatest transportation need.
County Chief Executive Dan Onorato would prefer to extend the T light-rail system from Downtown to Oakland, but said he's resigned to moving forward on the tunnel project he inherited.
The federal government is preparing to pay $217 million toward the North Shore Connector project. Kill the tunnel, and the money goes away.
"If we were deciding today, starting from scratch, I would go from Downtown to Oakland," Onorato said. "If there was a way to move the money and keep it here for another priority, I'd support that. But I'm being told that's just not an option."
Port Authority of Allegheny County plans to bore a tunnel underneath the Allegheny River to extend its 25-mile light-rail system by a mile and a half from Downtown to the North Side and the David L. Lawrence Convention Center. The extension would bring transit service to the convention center and the developing North Shore area between Heinz Field and PNC Park.
"Once we start tunneling we don't know what we're going to find," Port Authority board member Jim Dodaro said during a recent meeting. "There are a lot of variables we're going to encounter.
"We've got to do everything humanly possible to try and contain costs. It's the type of project that historically has had significant cost overruns."
Onorato said the board will have to guard against rising costs because county government won't pay more than the $13 million it has already pledged. In addition to the federal transit grant, other federal transportation funding sources will provide $100 million and the state will pay about $65 million.
"I don't think there's any way to make it foolproof," Onorato said. "I think the authority's board is going to have to ride herd on the contractors."
Prior county administrations, including former Chief Executive Jim Roddey and the last board of commissioners, lobbied for the project -- as did Mayor Tom Murphy, who saw the extension as a way to serve new development. A spokeswoman said Murphy was unavailable for comment.
Faced with losing the $217 million grant and having already spent $35 million in design work, Onorato said the best course is build the North Shore Connector and use it as a launching point for future extensions to Pittsburgh International Airport and the Allegheny Valley.
But first, Onorato said he wants to put forth a proposal to extend the system to Oakland while the North Shore Connector is under construction.
He isn't alone in looking toward Oakland. Democratic mayoral nominee Bob O'Connor has said getting better transportation to Oakland is a priority. Members of the Allegheny County Transit Council, a riders group, also have said they would prefer an extension serving Oakland before the North Side.
Supporters of the North Shore Connector include the Pirates and Steelers, as well as Port Authority CEO Paul Skoutelas and Chairman Jack Brooks.
"It creates 5,000 temporary jobs for two years -- plus the fact (that) if you look for any growth in the city, it's in the North Side," Brooks said.
Brooks said the authority likely will get less money for future projects. The Federal Transit Administration is prepared to pay 80 percent of the North Shore Connector. Future projects might receive 50 percent.
If the authority approves today's lowest bidder, a ground-breaking ceremony is scheduled for Sept. 9.
That may not happen.
The low bid needs to be about $55 million to stay within budget. But, Brooks said, "Contractors have said, 'If you think we're going to hit $55 million, you're crazy.' They're telling me it's going to be $10 to $15 million more than that. If (the board) thinks that's excessive, they can ask to rebid it."
Jim Ritchie can be reached at jritchie@tribweb.com or (412) 320-7933.
The bids came in 25% higher than expected.
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