MTA moves forward with design of Interborough Express project
Credit: Marc A. Hermann / MTA on Flickr
The Interborough Express, a proposed public transit connection between Brooklyn and Queens, is one step closer to becoming a reality. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority on Tuesday issued a request for proposals (RFP) for the preliminary engineering and design phase of the 14-mile light rail line and began an environmental review with the federal government, according to Bloomberg. The initial phase is expected to take roughly two years to complete.
Stretching 14 miles from Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, to Jackson Heights, Queens, this transformative project will repurpose the existing right-of-way Bay Ridge Branch rail line, connecting transit-deprived neighborhoods to 17 subway lines and 51 bus routes while significantly reducing travel times between the two boroughs.
These neighborhoods include Sunset Park, Borough Park, Kensington, Midwood, Flatbush, Flatlands, New Lots, Brownsville, East New York, Bushwick, Ridgewood, Middle Village, Maspeth, and Elmhurst.
“More than 5 million people live in Brooklyn and Queens and many of them want to travel between the two boroughs for jobs, education and all that NYC has to offer,” MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber said. “We need an easier way to move between the two boroughs, and that is exactly what the IBX delivers.”
Plans for the IBX were first announced in Gov. Kathy Hochul’s 2022 State of the State address and built upon decades of speculation and discarded plans to transform the pre-existing freight-rail Bay Ridge Branch that runs between the boroughs into a public train line.
The MTA conducted a feasibility study in early 2022 that found the completed train line would serve anywhere between 74,000 and 88,000 riders daily.
In January 2023, the MTA announced it would use light rail for the IBX, with Hochul saying it would “provide the best service for customers at the lowest cost per rider,” according to a press release.
Over the past year, the plan has been revised to ensure the fastest and most affordable service for passengers, with the MTA opting for a design that features a tunnel beneath All Faiths Cemetery on Metropolitan Avenue in Middle Village, instead of a previous proposal that would have placed train cars alongside vehicular traffic.
The MTA had previously dismissed the tunnel idea, stating that the existing tunnel underneath the cemetery was too narrow to accommodate both light trail and existing freight operations, and would require digging under people’s graves, according to QNS.
However, the MTA dismissed the concept before even engaging with cemetery officials. As reported by QNS, Brian Chevanne, director at All Faiths, said in January that the transit agency had never reached out about the proposal, and he had previously endorsed running trains through the tunnel instead of the street.
This design will further reduce travel times by establishing a dedicated right-of-way for the IBX, with initial plans to either expand the existing tunnel under the cemetery or create a new tunnel alongside it.
In East New York, the MTA is working on the design of an IBX station north of Atlantic Avenue within one of their sites. Creating a station there will streamline transfers to the A, C, J, Z, and L trains at Broadway Junction, as well as transfers to the LIRR East New York Station.
Additionally, the MTA has reduced the number of bridges along the project that would require construction and has identified stations where one center platform can be built instead of two.
The preliminary phase will be funded primarily through the state’s 2025 budget, as well as an additional $15 million awarded to the MTA by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity grant.
However, the project still faces funding risks, as nearly half of the MTA’s $65.4 billion 2025-2029 capital budget is unfunded. The budget allocates $2.75 billion for the IBX.
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It is doubtful that construction will commence on the $5.5 billion Interboro Brooklyn to Queens Express Light Rail Connector (IBX) within the next five years. The project has yet to be officially admitted into the Federal Transit Administration Capital Investment Grant New Starts Core Capacity program. It was not included in the March 2024 FTA report to Congress for consideration of funding in 2025. The process from start to finish averages five years before FTA issues a Full Funding Grant Agreement.
Governor Hochul instructed MTA Chairman Janno Lieber to do so over one year ago. He has failed to convince FTA to date. The $2.75 billion in the new proposed MTA $68 billion 2025 – 2029 Five Year Capital plan is counting on currently non existent matching $2.75 billion in federal dollars. This is necessary to complete the funding package for construction to start. The MTA’s proposed $68 billion 2025 -2029 Five Year Capital Plan is short $33 billion. This project is a prime candidate to be dropped which would reduce the shortfall to $30.25 billion. Funding for safety and state of good repair capital projects are a higher priority than any system expansion projects such the IBX. Consideration of funding for this project should be postponed until the next NY MTA 2030 – 2034 Five Year Capital Plan.
(Larry Penner — transportation advocate, historian and writer who previously served as a former Director for the Federal Transit Administration Region 2 Office of Operations and Program Management. This included the development, review, approval and oversight for billions in capital projects and programs for the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority NYC Transit bus, subway and Staten Island Railway, Long Island and Metro North Railroads, MTA Bus, NYCDOT Staten Island Ferry along with 30 other transit agencies in NY & NJ.)