“We are all treating with aging infrastructures,” said Massachusetts’ transport secretary, Monica Tibbits-Nutt, who moderated a panel about megaprojectes at this year’s American public transport conference in Boston, where leaders spoke through the challenges and lessons learned from these multimillional efforts. “We are dealing with the communities that change, and these are the types of projects that help to shape our communities and our economies.”
One of these major construction programs is $ 16 billion Hudson Tunnel projectIt consists of building nine kilometers of passenger railway track between New York and New Jersey, a new twin tube tunnel under the Hudson River and renewing the existing tunnel of 115. Tunnels carry some 200,000 Amtrak and New Jersey Transit Cenders on each day and outside Manhattan.
Thomas Takegast, CEO of the Gateway Development Commission, called the Hudson Tunnel project “A Mega-Program on Steroids”.
It Pass Development CommissionEstablished in 2019 by New York and New Jersey, he oversees the Hudson Tunnel project, which Takergast said includes 10 separate projects, each more than $ 1 billion. The Commission also works closely with NJ Transit, which is responsible for replacing an 115 -year -old railway bridge About the Hackensack River in New Jersey, which is an important source of train delays.
“What makes all the projects work so complex, but maybe different from how things were done [in the past]It is the framework of governance “, – A project development agreement between the interest groups established by funding, risks and milestones, said the President and CEO of NJ Transit, Kris Kolluri.
The project has achieved the necessary funding, said Kolluri, and is on the calendar and budget. “It is imperative to know tangible milestones,” he said. “People have to see evidence that are moving forward.”
Tregast agreed: “The expectation is there is to better spend this money with caution.” He also emphasized the importance of communicating and working with the communities affected by the construction. “You need to ask for community contributions and you need to mitigate these impacts in the more general and specific ways.”
In Honolulu, for example, an important project almost collapsed when he lost the Support to community and local leaders. Construction for a automated railway line Throughout the southern shore of O’Ahu that began in 2011, it was stopped by archeological studies “inadequate in phase”, a double that doubles the costs and a loss of faith of the city’s leaders.
“We were the son of the poster [the Federal Transit Administration] What Honolulu authority was said to do for quick transport CEO Lori Kahikina. Even the opening of the first segment in 2023 was in question when the mayor reached the launch of a railway line at a closed stage, said Kahikina.
“We convinced them that we have to open this because Hart’s reputation is so bad, to the extent that people wanted us to demolish this system,” he said. “We said,” People need to be used to have. We will not go. We do not demolish this. “”
Residents received the message, he said. “But now we are criticized because the driving is so low; it is on average about 3,500 to 4,000 newspapers.”
Kahikina seeks the opening of October 1 of the second segment, which will arrive at Pearl Harbor and the International Airport Daniel K. Inouye of Honolulu, to help increase driving. He said these locations are two of the largest businessmen on the island.
Kahikina, who joined Hart in 2021, said: “Every commitment we have made [the] FTA For the last four years, we have fulfilled the calendar, we have fulfilled our budget. “He added that he has been to the community, gathering with the people wherever he can.
Kolluri also emphasized the importance of interest groups to recognize “that we are all actively working to improve their lives.”
