Port Authority of Allegheny County officials say they'll know by June 23 the fate of a plan to secure an additional $35 million to pay for the rising cost of extending the T subway system under the Allegheny River to the North Shore.
The Federal Transit Administration's pending decision is do-or-die for construction of the North Shore Connector, which has not started because bids for the first phase have been over budget.
If county and federal officials cannot agree on a plan, the $393 million project would be canceled, and nearly $320 million in federal grants would be lost.
"If they say 'No,' then it ends because it isn't going anywhere," authority Chairman Jack Brooks said.
Under the proposal, the federal government would add $18 million, the state another $5.8 million, the county $1.2 million and the authority $10 million. The added spending would bring the project's total to $428 million.
Talks among federal and local officials continue regarding whether $7 million more in local money would be needed as a contingency in case costs rise further.
Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato has agreed to pay an extra $1.2 million, bringing the county's contribution to $13.9 million. The decision reverses course from his previous pledge to not spend more county money on the tunnel project.
"It's kind of hard to walk away from $300 million in federal funding," Onorato spokesman Kevin Evanto said. "I think a lot of people have had a lot of frustration with the project.
"I think he's taking the position that if we're going to get light rail to the airport, into the North Hills and the Allegheny Valley, we have to cross the river first. This does accomplish that ... We're going to have to make the best of it."
North Shore Constructors, a joint venture including West Mifflin's Trumbull Corp. and Obayashi Corp. of Japan, is the lowest bidder for the first phase of work, which includes digging two tunnels under the river from the Gateway Center Station to an area near PNC Park.
The phase was estimated to cost between $130 million and $140 million, but the lowest bid was $156.5 million. Port Authority has not accepted it because of the high cost. North Shore Constructors extended its proposal by 30 days, until July 1, to give the authority and federal officials more time to forge an agreement.
This is the second round of bidding for the first phase. A previous round also came in over budget and was rejected by the board.
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