The Long Island Rail Road finishes its capital projects late and over budget because managers don’t always follow guidelines and contractors aren’t required to follow them, according to an audit by New York State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli.
In a report released on Friday, the comptroller investigated 11 projects and found that 10 of them were finished late — as much as four years late. Eight of the projects were also over budget as much as $35 million.
The report also faulted the Metropolitan Transportation Authority for not consulting its Estimation Unit when budgeting projects.
The LIRR accepted most of the comptroller's findings, but disagreed with the conclusion that its project planning is poorly administered. In a response letter included in the audit, the railroad wrote that given the extensive nature of LIRR’s projects, the word “poor” is not warranted.
