Heaviside: Let's finish LIRR's 'moon shot'

Katherine Heaviside is president of Epoch 5 Public Relations in Huntington.

No single construction project in our lifetimes will have as large an impact on the economy of Long Island as the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's East Side Access plan.

Long Island Rail Road President Helena Williams has called it the LIRR's "moon shot." It holds the promise of transforming LIRR service in a way that hasn't happened since the construction of the East River tunnels from Penn Station some 100 years ago.

But for that to happen, it must be completed, and another $2 billion or so is needed. Yesterday, Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) called for the Federal Railroad Administration to direct $2.2 billion in railroad funds forfeited by New Jersey to the project. If federal officials don't come up with the money, Albany must: The last three years of the MTA's current five-year capital plan will be unfunded at the end of this year if no action is taken.

Along with other members of the Long Island Association business group, I recently took a bumpy, dirty, noisy ride into the future on a construction work train used by sandhogs who are building the new home of the LIRR under Grand Central Terminal. It was a fascinating trip -- one that made clear the absolute necessity of completing this vital LIRR link to the East Side of Manhattan.

We boarded in Long Island City, rumbled beneath the East River at 63rd Street into recently dug caverns under Park Avenue, and emerged into the lower-level food concourse at Grand Central, much like LIRR customers of the future will do when the project is finished (currently estimated at 2016).

The caverns and tunnels are dark and full of muck still. But the shape of the LIRR terminal under Grand Central is clearly visible, with the high-arched ceilings already being waterproofed and readied for a concrete lining. Standing among the sandhogs -- with their miner-style hard-hat lights illuminating the dark shadows 90 feet below Grand Central -- one can clearly begin to see where the LIRR trains of the future will platform. Also visible are some of the steep chutes cut out of Manhattan bedrock, where escalators will carry Long Islanders on their journey to the street and back again.

Once completed, East Side Access will enable Long Islanders to select a train to either Penn Station or Grand Central from their home station. Those traveling to the East Side, where many financial district and other jobs have migrated over the years, will shave up to 40 minutes off their daily commute. Direct rail access to Grand Central is one reason why the suburbs north of Manhattan have thrived in recent years. Long Island must not fall further behind.

As an employer on Long Island, I am often frustrated with the MTA, especially with the dreaded and unpopular payroll tax that has placed a burden on small businesses and nonprofits. The MTA's recent decision to jettison Long Island Bus is also a flash point for many Long Islanders. But our mixed feelings for the MTA shouldn't dampen our collective support and enthusiasm for this project. We cannot allow it to be an unfinished $5-billion hole in the ground.

More than 2,000 construction jobs are at stake, in addition to the obvious economic benefit this project will bring to Long Island. The entire metropolitan area will benefit -- Westchester and Connecticut residents who use Metro North, along with East Siders, for instance, will be able to easily reach the Hamptons via the MTA's suburban rail system. The city is getting its piece of the capital-plan pie with the Second Avenue subway and No. 7 line extension. East Side Access is no less important for the long-term prospects of Long Island.

For too long, LIRR customers have suffered with the subbasement, overcrowded conditions at Penn Station. As I emerged after the tour into the daylight on 42nd Street outside Grand Central, I imagined what LIRR train travel could be like in the not-too-distant future -- and it will be a significant improvement. This project is real; the tunnels have been dug or are being completed. Our elected leaders must make sure the MTA is able to finish the job.