Saturday, December 24, 2005

Subway spur to center put off

Is the message here that they would like to do all the expensive things now, while they don't have the money.

Or, is the message, spend a huge amount of money right before they take away your credit card, because they are going to take it anyway, soon. And, because being prudent is just in poor taste.
Subway spur to center put off North Shore line to get priority due to spiraling costs

Construction of a subway spur to the David L. Lawrence Convention Center will be deferred to preserve the main part of the project: extending the Light Rail Transit system from Downtown to the North Shore.

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Subway spur to center put off
North Shore line to get priority due to spiraling costs

Saturday, December 24, 2005
By Joe Grata, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Construction of a subway spur to the David L. Lawrence Convention Center will be deferred to preserve the main part of the project: extending the Light Rail Transit system from Downtown to the North Shore.

The Port Authority announced the revised plan yesterday.

Authority officials blamed soaring inflation in the building industry for the change. The 1.2-mile extension, including twin tunnels under the Allegheny River, will provide for possible future expansion to Pittsburgh International Airport.

They said planning and engineering on the 1,600-foot subway spur to the convention center and an underground station near where Penn Avenue, Liberty Avenue and 11th Street intersect will be preserved for use in a later stage of T development.

By downsizing the project and eliminating the purchase of four light-rail vehicles, the authority estimates it will avoid $80 million in unfunded costs and stay within a $393 million budget for which it has lined up money -- $314.5 million from the Federal Transit Administration, $65.8 million from the state and $12.7 million from the county.

Because of the move, the authority has prepared a revised environmental report assessing the impact. The public has through Jan. 18 to submit written comments on the document, which is available at several sites, including the authority's Heinz 57 Center headquarters and Downtown Service Center. It's also available on the Web at www.ridegold.com.

In a prepared statement, acting Chief Executive Officer Dennis Veraldi said: "We cannot afford to lose the opportunity to utilize scarce federal and state capital funds for a project of this magnitude. Given significant increases in the cost of steel and cement and across-the-board increases in construction costs due to recent spikes in fuel prices and other factors, we believe our best option is to defer the convention center line."

An indication that the project faced financial challenges surfaced in September, when an $88 million low bid to bore the tunnels was 25 percent higher than engineering estimates and the budget. Since then, the contract has been revised and repackaged. A new round of bids is to be opened Jan. 25.

The bigger part of the project in the authority's immediate plans would extend the T from Gateway Center on a route beneath Stanwix Street and through the twin tunnels under the river to a short subway on the North Shore to a station west of PNC Park. At that point, the line will climb to ground level and curve west, following Allegheny Avenue to a station that will be part of a new intermodal parking garage near Heinz Field.

Authority officials said the T extension was "the best opportunity" to serve Community College of Allegheny County and the rapidly developing North Shore.

They said the North Shore Connector will position the transit agency to accommodate thousands of people who will live, work, attend school, shop and spend leisure time on the North Shore while providing "a new option for thousands of others who already travel there" without adding traffic congestion.

Instead of 21 contracts for the full-scale project, the authority will have 15 contracts for only the North Shore Connector.

Henry Nutbrown, authority manager of engineering and construction, said it would not be less expensive to build a bridge or use an existing span to carry the line over the Allegheny River.

"We looked at those possibilities early in the planning process," he said. "The technique of tunnel boring has reached a sophisticated level and is being widely used. A bridge would change the character of town forever."

He said a minimum 350-foot ramp extending from Gateway Center to the level of a new bridge would occupy two blocks of Stanwix Street, while the footprint of a North Shore bridge ramp would take land reserved for development.

"When you add costs of property acquisition and the loss of revenue from property taken off the tax rolls to the construction costs associated with a new bridge, believe me, it would equal or exceed the cost of the twin tunnels," Mr. Nutbrown said.

He said more contractors are showing interest in the revised bid package for the tunnels, compared with three that submitted bids in September. Consequently, he is hoping for more competitive bids in line with the budget.

The Port Authority's nine-member board of directors will consider ratifying the changes after the public comment period ends on the supplemental environmental report.

(Joe Grata can be reached at jgrata@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1985.)

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