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In
total, the federal government will fund more than $11 billion of
the $17.2 billion Hudson Tunnel Project costs that will repair
an existing tunnel and build a new one for passenger railroad
Amtrak and state commuter lines between New Jersey and
Manhattan, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said.
Any failure of the lines in the current tunnel, which was
heavily damaged during 2012's Superstorm Sandy, would hobble
commuting in the largest U.S. metropolitan area that produces
10% of the country's economic output.
The White House in July had advanced $6.88 billion in funding
from the Federal Transit Administration for the project.
Schumer, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and New York
Governor Kathy Hochul were among the officials who celebrated
the start of construction in New York on the Hudson Tunnel
Project.
Buttigieg said Friday the Hudson Tunnel project will reduce
traveler delays, support 72,000 jobs and generate $19 billion in
economic activity. "This is the largest project of its kind in
modern American history," Buttigieg said.
The project was debated in Washington for over a decade since
the New York City-area rail tunnel was damaged when Superstorm
Sandy flooded parts of the city. The 112-year-old rail tunnel
carries 200,000 passenger trips per day on New Jersey Transit
and Amtrak along the Northeast Corridor.
In 2010, then-New Jersey Governor Chris Christie pulled state
funding for the tunnel. The administration of then-U.S.
President Donald Trump and Congressional Democrats sparred over
whether the federal government should help fund the tunnel
replacement.
New Jersey and New York will contribute 30% of the costs and
Amtrak is funding $1 billion, Schumer said.
The states through the Gateway Program aim to overhaul much of
the aging infrastructure in the Northeast Corridor rail line
between Newark, New Jersey, and New York City.
(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Nick Zieminski)
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