The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) announced the beginning of the Interborough Express recently.
The environmental review, a major milestone for the IBX after New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the project had entered the preliminary engineering and design phase, is required as part of the New York State Environmental Quality Review Act.
“The IBX will dramatically improve the commutes of over 160,000 daily riders and we are moving full-speed ahead to keep this transformational project on track,” Hochul said. “Beginning environmental review is yet another statement of intent that in New York, we don’t just talk about major infrastructure projects, we build them.”
The review will begin with a series of three public meetings to explain the scope of the project and the review process, to be held between Wednesday, Oct. 29 and Wednesday Nov. 12. The environmental review process runs concurrent to the preliminary engineering and design phase and will produce a Draft Scoping Document, as well as, ultimately, as a draft Environmental Impact Statement. The process assess the potentially significant environmental benefits and impacts of the IBX project.
MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber said, “900,000 New Yorkers live along the proposed IBX route, and we’re not going to waste any time advancing this project for them. Launching the State environmental review process gives us the momentum we need to move this transformational effort toward construction.”
Officials said the Interborough Express is a transit investment that will connect Brooklyn and Queens to the subway, bus lines and the Long Island Rail Road. The project is expected to reduce travel times between the two boroughs, with an end-to-end run time of 32 minutes along freight lines owned by the MTA and CSX Corp.