A cooperative agreement between the New York State Department of Transportation and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority will give the MTA some much needed funding.
The agreement provides the MTA with $111 million in transportation development credits to leverage $1 billion in federal disaster relief funding for Hurricane Sandy rebuilding efforts.
Last month, the Federal Transit Administration awarded the MTA $1 billion to pay for the rebuilding of damaged elements of MTA”™s bus, subway and rail system. The $1 billion requires a 10 percent match and DOT approved the MTA”™s request to use $111 million in credits to meet the requirement.
The MTA system sustained an estimated $4.75 billion worth of damage as railroad and subway lines, vehicle tunnels, subway stations and power and signal equipment were inundated with corrosive salt water during Hurricane Sandy.
The MTA’s transit projects will be eligible in the coming months for additional funds for critical repair and restoration projects, as well as mitigation and resiliency measures from the FTA’s Emergency Relief program. The MTA will also apply to FEMA for additional federal funding for recovery work at its seven bridges and two tunnels.
