MTA Moneypit //

The MTA's stratospheric spending leavesNew York unable to afford major subwayexpansions, even as it drowns in traffic andstruggles with some of the nation's highest asthma rates. Most recently this was shown  in the cost figures for the Second Avenue subway extension into Harlem. 

The MTA is digging the endless money pitwith design decisions for building stationstwice as big as necessary, the investigation showed MTA officials plan to spend $7 billion, a figure the federal government warns could grow to $7.7 billion, and that's the stripped-down plan.

Some of the tunnel for the East Harlem extension was laid in the 1970s. MTA officials intend to repurpose it to save money, but the project still looks set to break cost world records.