Question

Question: Find an article about a private or public projectthat a firm or government recently completed. Analyze the project and discuss what theincremental benefits and costs to the firm and to society would be if the size or scope ofthe project was to be expanded. Are the incremental benefits larger than the incrementalcosts and should the project have been expanded? What role would bonds play infunding these operations and/or shifting the costs to the future? Defend your answer andcite your sources

Answer 1

East Side Access is a public works project under construction by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) in New York City.The East Side Access project in New York City is a project that will cut commuter trips by an average of about 40 minutes by connecting the Sunnyside Yards station to the Grand Central Terminal for Long Island Railroad (LIRR) riders. The groundbreaking date for this project was in October 2003, and estimated completion at groundbreaking wassometime in 2009. The estimated completion date as of 2014 is December 2022.The project's estimated cost increased from $4.3 billion when first proposed, to $6.3 billion in 2006, $8.4 billion in 2012, and $10.8 billion in 2014.By 2017, the projected cost was $12 billion. Though construction work is ongoing, the completion date for the project has been continually pushed back by the MTA. Each weekday many thousands of Long Island Rail Road passengers bound for the East Side of the Manhattan CBD must transfer to subways or buses for the mile-long trip from Penn Station. Considerable travel time and wear-and tear on the passengers could be saved if Long Island trains were routed directly to a new East Side terminal. A preliminary economic analysis of this extraordinarily expensive scheme indicates that the benefits fall far short of the costs. A modification of the MTA plan is outlined herein which will increase the benefits to Long Island passengers bound for the East Side, provide benefits to suburban passengers from other sectors, and cost conSiderably less. The project represents the construction effort to complete the line to Grand Central Terminal. After voters in New York approved a bond issue to provide state funds to the project, the federal government committed to provide $2.6 billion to help build the project by signing a full funding grant agreement in December 2006.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

wirednewyork.com

revolvy.com