NEW YORK, NY — Governor Kathy Hochul announces that the engineering and design phase of the $5.5 billion Interborough Express (IBX) project has commenced. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) Board authorized the selection of a joint venture between Jacobs and HDR as the team that will oversee the design and engineering phase of the IBX. This represents major progress for the project, which will connect historically underserved New York communities in Brooklyn and Queens to the subway, bus, and Long Island Rail Road, while significantly reducing travel times between Brooklyn and Queens.
“Building the Interborough Express will transform New York, connecting communities like never before, shortening commutes, and unleashing the full potential of Brooklyn and Queens,” Hochul said. “The IBX is the sort of project that future generations will describe as a no-brainer, and thanks to funding we secured for the MTA's Capital Plan, we’re not just talking about it — we’re getting it done.”
The IBX will be a new transit option for close to 900,000 residents living in neighborhoods along the route, along with 260,000 people who work near the corridor in Brooklyn and Queens. It will create 19 stations and connect with 17 different subway lines, 50 bus routes, and two LIRR stations. The project will be built along an existing, 14-mile freight line owned by the MTA LIRR and CSX Corp. that extends from Sunset Park, Brooklyn, to Jackson Heights, Queens.
The IBX will be the first new end-to-end rapid transit built entirely within New York City since the IND Crosstown Line, now called the G, fully opened in 1937. IBX stations built in Brooklyn will be the first transit stations built in the city’s most populous borough since the A line extended from Broadway Junction to Euclid Avenue in 1948. IBX stations in Queens will be the first new transit stations built since the Archer Avenue extension of the E, J, and Z lines to Jamaica in 1988.
“The Interborough Express will transform mobility in New York’s two largest boroughs with fast, reliable, frequent public transit," said Jamie Torres-Springer, MTA Construction & Development President. "I look forward to getting the design process underway and continuing the MTA’s track record of completing projects better, faster, and cheaper than ever before.”
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Project design will officially kick off this summer, focusing on light rail system design including: communications and signal design, vehicle design, track design, plus civil engineering efforts such as station design, bridge reconstruction and retaining wall design, and design of the operations facility and storage yard. The design process is the last major step in the project before formal construction begins.
