PANYNJ approves $3.2b for operations in 2018, $3.4b for capital projects

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey’s (PANYNJ) 2018 operating budget is an increase of $61 million, or 1.9 percent over the 2017 budget, and expenses are expected to be offset by a revenue increase of $127 million (2.5 percent), over last year.    The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) on Dec. 7 officially adopted a 208 budget that includes $3.2 billion for ongoing operations, maintenance and security at all agency facilities, as well as $3.4 billion for capital expenses.
   The operating budget is an increase of $61 million, or 1.9 percent over the 2017 budget, with the increases primarily driven, the PANYNJ said, by increases in police staffing at Port Authority facilities, higher operating costs from facilities coming into operation at the World Trade Center site next year — and higher payments to local municipalities and other landlords in return for the use of facilities or property.
   The expenses, the Port Authority said, are expected to be more than offset by increased revenues of $127 million, or 2.5 percent, over the 2017 budget. 
   The capital budget which, like the operating budget, was formally proposed Nov. 8, funds major state-of-good-repair work at key transportation facilities and major projects to replace aging infrastructure with modern, state-of-the-art facilities to provide for future growth.
   It aligns with a 10-year, 2017-2026 capital plan adopted by the Board of Commissioners in February. The plan calls for investments in regional transportation projects like the redevelopment of LaGuardia and Newark Liberty International airports; and advancement of the AirTrain LaGuardia and John F. Kennedy International Airport Vision planning.
   In addition, the 2018 capital budget includes spending for the completion of the Goethals Bridge replacement and Bayonne Bridge raise the roadway projects; rehabilitation of the George Washington Bridge; implementation of a Positive Train Control (PTC) system across the Port Authority Trans-Hudson (PATH) rapid transit system by the end of 2018; construction of the Intermodal Container Transfer Facility at Greenville Yards at the Port Jersey Marine Terminal; and support of the planning phase of the Gateway Passenger Rail Tunnel projects.