A new MTA spending plan has proposed new funding for the IBX project, otherwise known as the Interborough Express, which officials estimate will cover near half its cost, yet the beginning of construction likely still remains a few years away.
Gov. Kathy Hochul’s proposed 14-mile light rail designed to run between Brooklyn and Queens, which she promoted in response to post-pandemic commuting patterns in which fewer New Yorkers are traveling to and from Manhattan, would repurpose a set of freight tracks from Bay Ridge to Jackson Heights for passenger service.
The line would have 19 stations, connect to 17 subway lines and service several of the city’s most prominent transit deserts in outer boroughs, reducing average commuting times for tens of thousands of New Yorkers.
On Wednesday, the project advanced after the MTA released its five-year construction plan, which consists of spending $2.75 billion on the IBX over the plan’s duration. The remaining funds for the project are not expected until 2030.
Similar to the rest of the agency’s proposed construction plan, the future of the IBX depends on Hochul and state lawmakers finding at least $33 billion to fund all the agency’s planned projects. Hochul’s June order to pause congestion pricing left a significant funding gap in the MTA’s construction projection, forcing officials to delay $16.5 billion in projects.
Last year, an MTA official prefaced that the agency would prioritize fixing the city’s existing transit infrastructure before building any new lines like the IBX.
“We’re at the beginning stages of environmental review and design. So part of the next step is determining exactly how we would proceed with the project,” Jamie Torres-Springer, the MTA’s president of construction and development, said on Tuesday.
Torres-Springer said the MTA is “confident that having 50% of the funding available means that we can make a very good start on getting into contracting and getting the project on,” and noted the transit agency also secured a $1 million federal grant this week to look at “innovative financing tools” for the project.
The MTA is scheduled to vote on the pending construction plan next week.
