MTA $21B plan clouds 2nd Ave. line

BY PETE DONOHUE
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

A four-member Albany panel approved an MTA capital plan last night that leaves the timing of three major expansion projects, including the Second Ave. subway, in doubt.

The Capital Program Review Board - with representatives from the Pataki administration, the Legislature and the mayor's office - approved a $21.1 billion plan that envisions only $2.5 billion for the three main projects: the Second Ave. subway, a Long Island Rail Road connection to Grand Central Terminal and a Kennedy Airport rail link to downtown Manhattan. The MTA had sought nearly $8 billion.

The five-year plan hinges on major assumptions, including that voters will approve a bond act in November that would funnel $1.45 billion to theMetropolitan Transportation Authority.

MTA officials previously have said that unless the state and feds come up with more funding for the expansion, the hoped-for completion dates of the first leg of the Second Ave. line and the Grand Central extension - 2012 - will be pushed back.

The plan also includes $2 billion for the extension of the No. 7 line, to be funded by the city.

But MTA Chairman Peter Kalikow last night focused on the positive - $16 billion for the "core program," which involves critical maintenance and upgrades, and includes the purchase of new subway cars, buses and the total rehabilitation of 44 subway stations.

"All of New York benefits from a superior public transportation system, and this capital plan will allow the MTA to continue to offer New Yorkers the best service in the world," he said in a statement.