Tuesday, April 25, 2006
Connector Boondoggle Still Breathing
According to newspaper reports, the North Shore Connector is still showing signs of life. Unbelievable as it sounds, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) might be ready to sign a full-funding agreement to get the tunnels underway. The Port Authority board could approve the contract bid at its meeting in late May, which would then trigger a Congressional review period. From all indications the $393 million price tag will be obliterated.
It is critically important that Congress take more than a casual second look at the project. It should be anything but a “bureaucratic formality”. Recall that to reduce costs PAT deleted the link to the Convention Center, a link that provided a substantial portion of the project’s new ridership. To repeat, this change to the Connector is not simply a paperwork issue; it changes the very nature of the project. If only the tunnels under the river are built as currently planned, the per passenger operating and capital costs will make the cost-benefit ratio of the project unacceptable even by the most liberal standards.
And as we have demonstrated on many occasions, the benefits are minimal and have been wildly overstated by PAT.
It is therefore incumbent on the state’s Congressional delegation and Senators to recognize the impact the tunnels are going to have not only on Federal spending, but also on the state and Allegheny County, both of whom will have to provide large sums in the almost certain case of substantial cost overruns.
It is too bad that the Federal government—or whoever is pushing for the Federal money for the project—has taken a “hands off” approach to the Connector. The County does not want to put in more money than it has already committed, but the FTA is apparently willing to adjust because the cost of construction materials has jumped up. Even PAT rejected the first round of bids as too high and the second round were well above engineering estimates. Nevertheless, no regional elected or appointed official, PAT board member, PAT manager, or local business leader has come out against the project.
Thanks to this acquiescence by those who could prevent this boondoggle, it appears the Big Dig of Pittsburgh is inching toward finding sufficient Federal dollars to launch the project. If that happens, it will be one of the most shameful episodes of powerful interests getting their way in Pittsburgh’s history, which, of course, is replete with examples of egregiously wasted tax dollars.
It is critically important that Congress take more than a casual second look at the project. It should be anything but a “bureaucratic formality”. Recall that to reduce costs PAT deleted the link to the Convention Center, a link that provided a substantial portion of the project’s new ridership. To repeat, this change to the Connector is not simply a paperwork issue; it changes the very nature of the project. If only the tunnels under the river are built as currently planned, the per passenger operating and capital costs will make the cost-benefit ratio of the project unacceptable even by the most liberal standards.
And as we have demonstrated on many occasions, the benefits are minimal and have been wildly overstated by PAT.
It is therefore incumbent on the state’s Congressional delegation and Senators to recognize the impact the tunnels are going to have not only on Federal spending, but also on the state and Allegheny County, both of whom will have to provide large sums in the almost certain case of substantial cost overruns.
It is too bad that the Federal government—or whoever is pushing for the Federal money for the project—has taken a “hands off” approach to the Connector. The County does not want to put in more money than it has already committed, but the FTA is apparently willing to adjust because the cost of construction materials has jumped up. Even PAT rejected the first round of bids as too high and the second round were well above engineering estimates. Nevertheless, no regional elected or appointed official, PAT board member, PAT manager, or local business leader has come out against the project.
Thanks to this acquiescence by those who could prevent this boondoggle, it appears the Big Dig of Pittsburgh is inching toward finding sufficient Federal dollars to launch the project. If that happens, it will be one of the most shameful episodes of powerful interests getting their way in Pittsburgh’s history, which, of course, is replete with examples of egregiously wasted tax dollars.
