Big Projects

The state is undertaking a huge project to replace the Tappan Zee Bridge - but it's not the only piece of New York infrastructure that is being built, rebuilt or in the works.

1 - East Side Access: Connection of the LIRR to the Grand Central Terminal
Increases in MTA ridership - with more expected - should be eased by the new connection of the Long Island Rail Road to Grand Central Terminal, but the East Side Access project was supposed to have been completed five years ago. Cost and time estimates keep increasing, with some of the latest figures indicating a more than $10.8 billion price tag that won't yield a final product until 2023.

2 - Verrazano-Narrows Bridge: Interstate 278, between Staten Island and Brooklyn
The most expensive of the MTA's bridge and tunnel projects in its 2010-14 Capital Plan, the upper level suspended deck replacement on the bridge is projected to cost more than $370,000,000. Construction won't be completed until 2018.

3 - High Speed Intercity Passenger Rail: Empire Corridor
The days of daylong train trips across the state could be over if high speed rail is added along the Empire Corridor, a project still in the infancy of the public comment period. Train times are projected to be slashed almost in half in some cases. Faster service won't come cheap, though. The most expensive alternative is estimated to top out at $14.7 billion.

4 - Rochester Inner Loop East Project: Roadway circles downtown Rochester Business District
Residents have argued that the Inner Loop highway doesn't promote neighborhood growth. Now they're getting their chance to see what life is like without it, with the Rochester City Council allowing a project to fill in part of the highway to move forward. Estimates put the price at roughly $22 million.