We will seek to fund five projects that eliminate major capacity constraints
Five key projects will ease congestion on some of our most clogged routes into Manhattan-all of which will be pressed beyond their capacity by 2030 unless we act.

The Second Avenue Subway is one of our most urgent needs, for a wide range of travelers: workers from the Bronx, local travelers from the Upper East Side, commuters changing trains to get from Westchester to Wall Street. Its construction will be a massive undertaking and cost billions, but we cannot let funding run out on this critical project a third time. (See case study on facing page: Yorkville, Manhattan)

The addition of a third track on the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) Main Line will enable the LIRR to run more trains, use its fleet better, and provide more service at local stations in Queens. It will especially serve reverse commuters, who live in New York City but work in Nassau County. Today, nearly 270,000 New York City workers commute to jobs outside city limits, up by 10% since 1990. Facilitating reverse commuting helps New York City residents expand their career options and suburban businesses broaden their worker pool.

Two projects will increase capacity for commuters west of the Hudson. Access to the Region's Core (ARC) will create a second trans-Hudson tunnel for New Jersey Transit (NJT), doubling the number of trains NJT can run into Manhattan and enabling direct service to New York on several lines for the first time. These and other Penn Station commuters will be able to get closer to the emerging Hudson Yards neighborhood through the Moynihan Station Project. The station will also restore a grand entrance to the west side of Manhattan.

Even more New Jersey commuters arrive by bus than by train-making the Express Bus Lane through the Lincoln Tunnel one of the region's most important assets. The Port Authority's plan for a second dedicated Express Bus Lane through the Lincoln Tunnel will allow expanded service for communities not on the NJT rail network.

Progress (as of 4/22/08):
The City has been working closely with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) and other partners to ensure adequate funding is available to complete these projects. In its recently-released 2008-2013 capital program, the MTA proposed a commitment of $1.38 billion in new funding, on top of current funding of $2.96 billion, to complete the first phase of the Second Avenue Subway (SAS). In addition, MTA has dedicated $1.0 billion to begin construction on the next phase of the SAS. MTA also allocated $150 million in funding to advance the Long Island Rail Road's Third Track project.