Port Authority Approves $4.5 Billion Budget

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey's board of commissioners has approved a $4.5 billion 2005 spending plan that includes capital funds for several high-profile projects, including the World Trade Center transportation hub.

Other big projects that will receive initial or continued funding under the plan include the construction of a new terminal at John F. Kennedy International Airport in Queens for Jet Blue Airways and an upgrade for the historic ferry slips at Hoboken terminal in New Jersey. The plan funds $1.7 billion overall in capital expenses, which includes the purchase of new rail cars and other equipment.

The budget also includes funds for: a feasibility study for building a rail link between JFK Airport and Lower Manhattan; modernizing Terminal B at Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark; continuing the dredging of New York harbor channels to 50 ft.; building a parking garage at JFK Airport for a new American Airlines terminal; and continuing the Goethals Bridge deck rehabilitation.

The board also approved the long-range parameters of the Newark Liberty Terminal B modernization project, assigning nearly $280 million to equip the facility to handle a projected rise in annual air passengers from 32 million today to 45 million in 2021. The initiative, which begins planning and design this year, calls for expanding and adding ticketing areas and passenger screening points, as well as building a new domestic baggage claim area.

N.J. Gov. Calls for Turnpike Expansion

Acting Gov. Richard Codey has called for adding lanes to 20.1 miles of the New Jersey Turnpike in order to relieve congestion in the central part of the Garden State. In one of his first official acts since taking office last fall when Gov. James McGreevey resigned, Codey directed the state's turnpike authority to begin engineering and design work for the leg through Middlesex, Mercer, and Burlington counties.

According to a press release, the work will extend the existing separate car-only and car-and-truck lane divisions in the northern part of the state past their current terminus at Exit 8A. The new separated lanes would flow south to Exit 6, which becomes a connector road linking to the Pennsylvania Turnpike.

The section between those exits carries 120,000 vehicles a day, but especially clogs up at the merge where southbound drivers from five divided lanes squeeze into three lanes. The initial design and engineering work is slated to run 18 months, and the project itself is pegged for a seven- to 10-year timetable.

Amtrak Awards Tunnel Job

Slattery Skanska, a unit of Skanska USA Civil based in Whitestone, N.Y., has begun the early stages of a four-year renovation of Amtrak's East River tunnels in New York. The project aims to improve track and tunnel safety.

Under a $127 million procurement, installation, and construction contract with Amtrak, Slattery Skanska will replace the tunnels' ventilation system and add new air shafts to ensure air supply and smoke ventilation. The project will also improve access for emergency personnel. Crews will work from the surface to 98 ft. underground.

Long Island Rail Road trains will continue to operate in the tunnels during construction except for brief outages.

Guidelines Issued for Water Utilities

An initiative funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has helped develop new voluntary infrastructure guidelines for water utilities. The interim guidelines aim to help drinking and wastewater utilities incorporate enhanced security measures into facility design.

A joint effort of the American Water Works Association, the Water Environment Federation, and the American Society of Civil Engineers developed three sets of documents encompassing the guidelines, available on their web sites, www.awwa.org, www.wef.org, and www.asce.org. The documents help designers, owners, and operators of drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater facilities navigate upgrades to improve physical security and operational practices.