Mysore Nagaraja

The Man In Charge of the MTA Plan

By Natalie Keith

When the Metropolitan Transportation Authority marks its 100th anniversary next year, the agency should be preparing for its next century, Mysore L. Nagaraja told the New York Building Congress breakfast in September.

Nagaraja is president of the MTA's newly created Capital Construction Company, an entity that will have the responsibility for advancing multibillion dollar capital system expansion projects for all MTA companies.

"These expansions projects are essential not just to New York City but to the region," Nagaraja added. "It's something we want to leave our children and grandchildren."

The expansion projects he is overseeing include the East Side Access, Second Avenue subway and expansion of the No. 7 subway line to the West Side. He will also spearhead two Lower Manhattan projects - the Fulton Transit Center and the new South Ferry subway station complex - and oversee the systemwide security initiatives undertaken as the result of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

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Each of these projects is viewed as critical, not only to rebuild downtown but also to give New York City the infrastructure it needs to continue the extraordinary growth it has seen over the past several decades.

"Moving these megaprojects forward is a real challenge," said MTA chairman Peter S. Kalikow. "We are confident that Mysore Nagaraja is the ideal person to get these jobs done, on time and within budget."

Those attending the Building Congress breakfast knew the importance of Nagaraja's mission. Event organizers said attendance was higher than anticipated, in part because participants were eager to find ways to win future MTA contracts.

During the question-and-answer session after Nagaraja's speech, Building Congress president Richard Anderson joked that questions regarding how to get contracts with the MTA were not permitted.

Nagaraja said that the MTA would determine on a project-by-project basis whether contracts would be awarded through a request for proposal or open bidding process.

Among challenges Nagaraja will face are securing all the funding necessary to complete the projects. While the downtown projects and the security enhancements are completely funded with federal dollars, the East Side Access and Second Avenue Subway projects have received only part of the federal money needed for completion. The MTA is hoping that the No. 7 subway line extension project will be funded by the city.

"I am enthusiastic about working with our federal, state and local partners to make these capital projects part of the region's great transportation network," Nagaraja said.

Prior to his appointment, Nagaraja served as senior vice president and chief engineer at MTA New York City Transit, where he oversaw aspects of the capital program including the reconstruction of the 1/9 subway line after the Sept. 11 attacks. Despite the extensive damage, the job was completed within a year and four days after the destruction of the World Trade Center.

At any given time, he managed more than 400 projects in various stages of construction and design, and during his tenure as senior vice president, more than 75 percent of all projects were completed on time and within budget. Prior to joining New York City Transit as a project manager in 1985, Nagaraja managed large capital construction projects for M.W. Kellogg Co.

Nagaraja has a bachelor's degree in engineering from University of Mysore in India and an M.S. degree from Brigham Young University. He is a licensed professional engineer in New York and New Jersey. In 1998, he received the Milton Pikarski Distinguished Leadership in Transportation Award from CUNY's City College.

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