Politicians vowed that work would soon begin on the long-stalled and historically expensive project to build a second tunnel under the Hudson River for Amtrak and NJ Transit on Friday, as New York Sen. Chuck Schumer announced an additional $3.8 billion in federal funding for the project.
“It’s all systems go,” Schumer said, speaking near 30th Street at the West Side Yard, where the work is set to happen. “There’s no turning back.”
The Gateway Project, which Schumer called the “nation’s largest public works project,” will build a new train tunnel and repair an existing tube damaged by Hurricane Sandy.
The project’s total estimated cost is $16 billion, up from an estimated $13 billion in 2020. Schumer said 70% of the project is funded, including through the bipartisan infrastructure legislation signed by President Joe Biden in 2021.
The additional federal funds mean New York and New Jersey’s financial contributions will be less than expected. The two states had agreed to each cover a quarter of the project’s costs.
“The fact that the state of New York and the state of New Jersey will now see a lowered financial burden is something that we focused on as a singular priority in this project,” said Kris Kolluri, CEO of the Gateway Development Commission, which is overseeing the project.
Kolluri couldn’t confirm exactly how much the two states will now be expected to pay.
“It’s been a long journey,” said New York Gov. Kathy Hochul. “Four presidents, five governors have all said they’d get this done.”
“Well, guess what?” she continued. “You have the governors and the president and the leadership in Washington that are saying ‘no more talk.’ This is the day the shovels go in the ground.”
While Hochul and others touted the start of construction on the project, the exact date shovels will go in the ground was unclear. Kolluri promised work would begin before the end of the year.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy did not speak at Friday’s event. His state is currently
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