7 unfinished NYC infrastructure projects poised to change the city in the 2020s
These major NYC projects have been in the works for what feels like forever—and many still have a long way to go
By
New York City is no stranger to colossal infrastructure and development projects that often come with harrowing delays. The past decade was no exception, with a handful of major projects that have been years (or decades) in the making finally coming into focus—though some are still a long ways off from crossing the finish line.
Some of these efforts, like the Second Avenue Subway and East Side Access, have chugged along through the terms of several governors and mayors, but finally made significant progress in the past 10 years. Others are on the cusp of completion after excruciating setbacks, and others still—including the Willets Point and Sunnyside Yard megaprojects—are still in the planning phases. It remains to be seen how these massive developments will reshape their surrounding communities.
Below we’ve broken down some of the decade’s unfinished business in New York City, with seven highly-anticipated projects for which the next 10 years will prove pivotal.
East Side Access
When the MTA’s massive project to link the Long Island Rail Road to Grand Central Terminal was formally proposed in the mid-1990s during Gov. George Pataki’s administration, it was estimated to cost $4.3 billion and was scheduled for completion by 2009. But the effort moved at a bewilderedly sluggish pace due to poor planning, with budget overruns and numerous delays. It has outlived several governors—the baton passed to Gov. Andrew Cuomo when he took office in 2011—and nearly tripled in price to $11.1 billion. Now, the whole thing is finally expected to wrap up in 2022, 13 years behind schedule. (“We’re going to finish this if I have to go down there with a shovel myself,” an exasperated Cuomo said of the project in April.)
After 12 years of construction, it seems East Side Access—which includes building seven miles of new tracks under the East River and a cavernous set of new train platforms beneath Grand Central—may actually be on the verge of completion. The effort is more than 70 percent done, but finishing East Side Access requires $798 million in the MTA’s next five-year capital plan—the latest price tag bump for the project.
The new link, which MTA officials say will begin ferrying commuters in December 2022, will accommodate some 160,000 riders per day and is expected to save commuters some 40 minutes by allowing them to bypass Penn Station.
Blackridge Construction LLC has been part of many New York City’s infrastructure projects throught New York City.
Read more about NYC Infrastructure projects here.