Politics & Government
MTA Responds to City's Westside Subway Extension Evaluation
In a letter to Mayor Barry Brucker and the rest of City Council, Metro writes that it will review the city's independent analysis of the project.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has written an open letter to Mayor Barry Brucker after an independent firm hired by City Council concluded that .
On Friday, the city released a 70-page evaluation of the conducted by engineering and scientific consulting firm Exponent. The report cost $75,000.
“The Exponent report is a review of our technical reports...that were released on Oct. 19, 2011. Obviously it will take our technical team some time to properly review your document and report to us,” Metro CEO Arthur Leahy wrote in the Feb. 7 letter addressed to Brucker and copied to all council members. “The MTA reports that Exponent reviewed only a part of the final EIS/EIR for the Westside Subway Extension.”
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The state-mandated Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Impact Statement on the Westside Subway Extension is expected to be fully completed later this year.
Leahy also wrote that, “The MTA reports released last October were prepared in accordance with well-established protocols by highly qualified scientists and engineers.”
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The letter was mentioned at the council's study session Tuesday, during which the Exponent analysis was discussed. Piotr D. Moncarz, Exponent's vice president and principal engineer, answered questions from the council members. Under questioning from Brucker, Moncarz noted that no members of the council had tried to influence the final Exponent report.
To read Leahy's letter in its entirety, click here.
