Mr. Sander said he was putting together a blue-ribbon panel that would convene in two or three weeks.

"We are going to hopefully come up with measures that will increase competition for the number of bidders on these contracts, deal with other issues that relate to the cost of construction, risk mitigation and other technical areas," he said.

MTA's top priority, Mr. Sander said, will be basic maintenance, followed by normal equipment replacement and mega-projects like the Second Avenue subway and East Side Access.

- Matthew Schuerman