Moving Earth

You would think that I'd be more excited about the latest groundbreaking for the Second Avenue Line but considering that this is the fourth groundbreaking held by city, state and federal officials since it was first proposed in 1929, I think people are more than justified by their skepticism.

This is a project that has been sorely needed for decades and has been stopped in its tracks because of fiscal difficulties and a lack of funding. Those same problems may come back and bite the project once again as the MTA has funding issues and the City may have similar difficulties. Indeed, the article waits until the last paragraph before addressing the central issue of how the line will be paid for:

Though the MTA has lined up $1.3 billion in federal funds and $1.65 billion from state and city taxpayers, the project still needs to find $1 billion more in funding in an era when federal deficits are soaring and a host of local transportation projects -- like the No.7 extension -- and other developments will be competing for scarce MTA and city funding.

Funding sources are one problem.

Rising material costs are another.

Rising material costs may also affect the construction as major construction projects are underway all over the city - from the new Yankee and Met ballparks to Lower Manhattan. There's the construction boom along the waterfront in Brooklyn and Queens and projects are popping up all over the place.

It's a good time to be in the construction industry, but all that work means that costs for concrete, steel, and other construction materials is going to be higher.

Gothamist has a liveblogging of the latest iteration.