"We don't think we'll make 2019"

(Photo credit: MTA)

At an oversight hearing of the State Assembly today, members of the MTA's administration informed the interested parties of the latest delays and cost overruns associated with the East Side Access Project.

The ridiculously expensive and very slow-coming project that will bring LIRR trains to Grand Central was originally supposed to be completed in 2013 and cost $6 billion.  That date has been pushed back countless times and that amount has been increased quite often too.  Recently, the projected completion date and cost estimate has held steady at around 2019 and $8.3 billion, but according to Craig Stewart, senior director of the MTA's Capital Plan, those figures are "slipping."

Mr. Stewart told their committee "we don't think we'll make 2019."

It's yet another unfortunate setback in a project that has already taken so long to get completed. Newsday's Alfonso Castillo reports that a report reassessing the project's timeline and budget will be released next month.

It's a story that is still developing, so we will learn more as we go along, but it appears we're not getting all that much closer after all.