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MTA briefs committee on Central Subway project; committee holds funding items for budget analyst report
Summary
The Municipal Transportation Agency presented Central Subway/Third Street project details including ridership projections (the presentation cited 91,000 new riders per day and $9.7 million in annual operational savings) and potential construction savings for a tunnel option; the committee agreed to continue two funding resolutions until a budget analyst report is available and set a two‑week continuance.
The Municipal Transportation Agency presented an overview of the Central Subway segment of the Third Street program and asked the Government and Audit Oversight Committee to hear a truncated community briefing. Judson True of the MTA introduced project manager John (John Fungi in the transcript), who outlined ridership forecasts, construction approaches and schedule assumptions and answered committee questions.
In the presentation, the MTA cited projected corridor changes and ridership: a stated 26% population increase along the corridor, a 61% increase in employment in South of Market, and an expected 91,000 new riders per day for the new T line; the MTA also said the central subway would add 21,000 riders to the system and estimated operational savings of about $9.7 million per year. The agency described a shift from a cut‑and‑cover approach to tunnel boring and mined-station excavation and presented a cost‑reduction "Option B" the presentation said could save roughly $130–$200 million in construction costs. The presentation attributed about $445 million in New Starts funding to prior congressional and senatorial support and discussed other federal, state and local contributions.
The committee had been read two funding resolutions: Item 3 (authorizing MTA to accept and expend $9,900,020 in federal New Starts assistance) and Item 4 (a larger New Starts/Section 5309 amount referenced in the transcript). Because no budget analyst report had been prepared, Chair Supervisor Tom Aviano asked to continue the items and requested a budget analyst report; MTA staff said they had no objection to continuation and prepared to return with the requested report at the committee's next meeting, two weeks later. Committee members asked the MTA about the potential for extending the tunnel to North Beach and how a northern station could affect cost‑per‑rider calculations and future funding prospects. MTA staff said the supplemental environmental effort does not add a station beyond the 1998 project boundary at Jackson Street but that construction techniques could allow a lined tunnel for future extension.
The committee did not take a final vote to accept federal funds at this meeting; Items 3 and 4 were continued for further review with a budget analyst report.
