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Filed Under:East Side Access, Grand Central, Grand Central Terminal, LIRR, Long Island Rail Road, Paul Murnane, Tri-State Transportation Campaign, Veronica Vanterpool
As part of the East Side Access megaproject, the MTA is building a new concourse for the Long Island Rail Road under Grand Central Terminal. This photo shows progress as of October 2013. (credit: Metropolitan Transportation Authority/Patrick Cashin)As part of the East Side Access megaproject, the MTA is building a new concourse for the Long Island Rail Road under Grand Central Terminal. This photo shows progress as of October 2013. (credit: Metropolitan Transportation Authority/Patrick Cashin)

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – The East Side Access project to bring Long Island Rail Road trains to Grand Central Terminal is already behind schedule and is now expected to come with a heftier price tag.

As WCBS 880’s Paul Murnane reported, the effort to bring LIRR trains to a new concourse 10 stories beneath Grand Central was at one time an $8 billion project with a 2013 completion date.

MTA board members will be told next week that the project could top $10 billion with a wrap date 2021 or beyond, the Wall Street Journal reported.

“There’s challenges that are not yet immediately seen. The MTA needs to keep this project on budget and on time moving forward,” Veronica Vanterpool with the Tri-State Transportation Campaign told Murnane. “It’s really going to improve transit service for about 80,000 or more in daily riders but it’s definitely disappointing news that this project is not on schedule, not on budget.”

LINK: More On East Side Access From The MTA

According to the Wall Street Journal, bids on work in rock caverns ten stories below the street came in over budget.

Breaking up that part project into smaller contracts is catching blame for some of the increased cost.

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