Gov. Cuomo finalizes $120 million for LIRR's Hicksville rehab project

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo yesterday announced a $120 million project to rehabilitate an MTA Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) station in Hicksville, N.Y.

Of the total funds, $68.7 million will cover the cost of the station rehabilitation — which is scheduled for completion in 2019 — and the remaining $52.3 million will go toward constructing the Hicksville north track siding.

Siding construction is aimed at increasing the speed and frequency of the service following completion of the ongoing East Side Access Project, which will create a direct route from LIRR lines into Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan. That project is slated for completion in 2022.

Poor drainage, cracked concrete and aging elevators and escalators rank among the Hicksville station's current structural issues, according to a LIRR press release.

"By renovating the Hicksville station, we're moving ahead with much-needed upgrades at one of the LIRR's busiest outlets and breathing new economic life into the community," Cuomo said in a prepared statement.