The federal government has vowed to put up $6.88 billion for New York and New Jersey’s plan to build two new rail tunnels beneath the Hudson River, Sen. Chuck Schumer announced on Thursday.
The funding covers less than half of the project’s estimated $16.8 billion cost — but the commitment represents the largest federal grant ever given for a U.S. mass transit project. New York and New Jersey have already agreed to split the remaining cost.
The project also includes work to repair the two existing Hudson River rail tunnels, which were damaged in 2012 during Hurricane Sandy. Officials in both states have, for a decade, said the new tubes must be built in order to close the existing ones for repairs.
And without the new infrastructure, elected leaders and transit experts warn there could be catastrophic consequences for the crucial Northeast Corridor.
“Everyone across the country agrees if the tunnels that cross the Hudson collapse or are unusable, our whole economy goes into turmoil,” Schumer said during a news conference. “The $6.88 billion is critical fuel … It is all systems go.”
The Gateway Development Commission — the bi-state agency overseeing the work — said some construction on the new tunnels started this year and they’re expected to open for service in 2035, roughly 12 years from now. That’s five years longer than it took the Pennsylvania Railroad to build the existing tubes, which were dug out from 1903 to 1910 without the help of modern tunneling machines.
After the new tunnels are finished, the commission plans to close the existing tunnels one at a time — and expects to finish rehabilitating them by 2038. When that work is complete, officials say they’ll have the option to double the number of NJ Transit and Amtrak trains that run between New York and New Jersey.
Brian Fritsch, head of the Build Gateway Now Coalition, an arm of the Regional Plan Association, said the funding guarantees construction will continue this year.
“This…
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