Feds Chip In More Money For Gateway Train Tunnel; NJ Lawmakers Cheer

NEWARK, NJ — The federal government is starting to put its money where its mouth is when it comes to a highly ballyhooed train tunnel across the Hudson River.

On Monday, three U.S. Congress members from the Garden State – Sen. Cory Booker, Rep. Donald Payne Jr. and Rep. Rob Menendez Jr. – joined with NJ Transit officials to announce a $4.48 billion burst of transportation funding for the region.

The money includes $3.8 billion for the Gateway Tunnel project between New Jersey and New York City. It also includes $300 million to rehabilitate the 90-year-old Dock Bridge over the Passaic River, $180 million for the Delco Lead project in New Brunswick, and $59 million to “improve passenger circulation” at Newark Penn Station – three other key components of the “Gateway” rehab project on the Northeast Corridor.

The latest windfall of federal bucks was authorized under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021. The $1.2 trillion package – a major part of President Joe Biden’s domestic agenda – got a thumbs-up from every New Jersey Congress member, Democrat and Republican alike.

• See Related: NJ House Members All Vote Yes On $1 Trillion Infrastructure Bill
• See Related: Menendez, Booker Of NJ Vote For Massive US Infrastructure Bill

“Thanks to this funding, we will upgrade decades-old infrastructure and help modernize our mass transit system, to the benefit of the lives of millions of commuters,” Booker said, adding that the money will spur economic growth and create thousands of jobs for New Jerseyans.

The announcement also got a cheer from New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy.

“Countless Americans will not only benefit from the faster, more efficient, and more reliable transportation this unprecedented funding will enable, but the thousands of good-paying jobs these projects will generate as well,” Murphy said.

GATEWAY TUNNEL

The largest portion of the grant funding will be used to help pay for a new train tunnel between New Jersey and New York City. It will serve Amtrak and NJ Transit trains.

The tunnel is “the most important infrastructure project in the country,” according to Payne, a member of the House subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials.

“The current tunnel is 113-years-old and needs to be replaced because any service disruptions could disrupt travel for 200,000 daily passengers,” the congressman added.

Booker’s office provided some additional background about the tunnel:

“The Hudson River Tunnel project will build a new two-track rail tunnel from the Bergen Palisades in New Jersey to Manhattan, directly serving New York Penn Station and rehabilitating the existing North River Tunnel. Additionally, as part of the construction, nearly 5,000 new affordable housing units will be created in the adjacent Hudson Yards. The project will improve New Jersey Transit and Amtrak service for a region that impacts more than 20 percent of the nation’s economy.”

Booker’s office continued:

“The Hudson River Tunnel project is particularly critical because the existing North River Tunnel serving Penn Station is more than 110-years-old and was severely damaged during Superstorm Sandy in 2012. While the tunnel has been repaired frequently, its age and damaged condition present reliability concerns for more than 200,000 people who travel through the tunnel on more than 400 trains every weekday. According to a study by the Northeast Corridor Commission, commuters in 2020 were delayed more than 210 hours due to maintenance issues.”

If the North River tunnel were to shut down for just one day, it would cost the United States more than $100 million, Booker noted. See Related: Hudson River Tunnel Shutdown Would Devastate Local Families, Report Says

New Jersey’s other U.S. senator, Bob Menendez, also cheered the $3.8 billion that has been earmarked for Gateway.

“When complete, the Gateway Project will facilitate increased capacity along the entire Northeast Corridor—a region that accounts for 20 percent of national GDP—and provide thousands of New Jerseyans who commute to New York every day with vastly improved, safer and more reliable train service,” Menendez said.

Meanwhile, Rep. Mikie Sherrill – another ardent supporter of the Gateway Tunnel from New Jersey – said that the $3.8 billion will lower New Jersey’s funding share of the project, allowing state resources to be used for other critical infrastructure needs.

“The Gateway Tunnel is our nation’s most important infrastructure project and with this announcement, New Jersey and New York will be able to move forward with construction,” Sherrill said.

THE BIGGER PICTURE

The Gateway Tunnel is part of a larger plan to take some pressure off one of the most notorious railway chokeholds in the nation: the Northeast Corridor. That plan – known as the “Gateway Program” – also includes building new Portal North and South Bridges over the Hackensack River in New Jersey, as well as making several other smaller upgrades between Newark Penn Station and New York Penn Station. Read More: There’s Good News For One Of NJ's Most Hated Bridges

The nonprofit Regional Plan Association pointed out in an April report that paying for the Gateway Program is no small feat. Learn more about how the project is being funded here.

The overall cost of the Gateway Program has risen to roughly $17.18 billion according to a recent White House fact sheet, significantly higher than earlier estimates of $16 billion. However, the price tag is well worth it, supporters say, including U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who visited Newark and New York City in 2021 to express his support for the project.

The Gateway Program was greenlighted during the administration of former President Barack Obama. It hit a brick wall when Donald Trump took office. But it has picked up steam again since Biden entered the White House, and has seen several key milestones since then.

Last summer, the governors of New York and New Jersey signed a written agreement that guarantees a 50-50 split when it comes to funding Gateway. Read More: NY/NJ Governors Sign Agreement To Split Cost Of Gateway Tunnel

At the time, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said they would work to “aggressively” chase more federal funding through Biden's landmark infrastructure package. Read More: Here's What NJ Will Get From $1 Trillion Infrastructure Bill

The most recent wave of funding isn’t the only rush of federal cash that has come Gateway’s way. One of these funding boosts – the federal “mega grants” – was hyped up by Biden when he visited the New York side of the Hudson River in January.

“As a U.S. senator, I commuted for 36 years, every single solitary day the Senate was in session – and I can tell you where all the delays were,” Biden recalled at a news conference.

“This tunnel opened for business in 1910,” the president continued. “And the structure is literally deteriorating. The roof is leaking, the floor is sinking, plus it was badly damaged by Superstorm Sandy. I was the vice president then. I came and walked through this tunnel. You ought to see it.”

• See Related: Joe Biden Says Big Bucks Are Coming For Gateway Tunnel In NJ, NY

Another major funding boost took place in July, when the U.S. Department of Transportation announced $6.88 billion in federal grants for the Hudson River Tunnel project, the largest-ever federal investment in mass transit. Read More: Feds Pledge Nearly $7 Billion For 'Gateway' Train Tunnel Between NJ, NY

As of Monday, federal investment in the Gateway Program exceeds $11 billion, according to Booker’s office.

The New Jersey and regional projects receiving funding are:

• $3,799,999,820 to Gateway Development Commission for the Hudson Tunnel Project: The proposed project includes final design and construction activities of the Hudson River Tunnel project and rehabilitation of the existing North River tunnels. Construction will include systems and fit out work in the tunnels, including installation of track, signals, traction power, ventilation, and fire and life safety systems. Design support, design management, and construction management will support the overall project, including tunneling and heavy civil engineering work, the New Jersey surface alignment, and rehabilitation of the existing North River Tunnel.
• $300,184,000 to Amtrak for the Dock Bridge Rehabilitation in Newark and Harrison: The proposed project includes construction for rehabilitation of the Dock Bridge, which crosses the Passaic River between Newark and Harrison. The 90-year-old, six-track, steel through-truss bridge will undergo repair of the structural steel, installation of straight steel rails to replace moveable miter rails, repair to concrete piers and fender replacement, and installation of a targeted anti-corrosion protection system to slow or stop future degradation to the bridge structure. The project will improve operations for Amtrak's intercity services, as well as New Jersey Transit commuter services and Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Port Authority Trans-Hudson transit service.
• $133,327,610 to Amtrak for the Sawtooth Bridges Replacement Enabling Components Project in Kearny: The project involves construction of early-action, critical-path activities for the Sawtooth Bridges Replacement project and includes utility relocations, catenary and aerial signal relocations, removal and replacement of the current crossover between the New Jersey Transit Morris & Essex Line and Conrail Center Street Branch, site access improvements, and property acquisition from Conrail. Completing the early action items is anticipated to accelerate the overall Sawtooth Bridges Replacement Project schedule by at least two years.
• $180,902,767 to NJ Transit for the Delco Lead project in New Brunswick: The project includes a new service and inspection facility, crew quarters, equipment storage space, and the 3.5-mile Delco Lead track itself, which provides capacity to store approximately 300 rail cars. Construction of the new facilities will reduce New Jersey Transit train volumes through Trenton Station, reducing congestion and delays in this area of the Northeast Corridor. State-of-good-repair benefits, including improved drainage, signal upgrades, and catenary upgrades to the Northeast Corridor main line will occur in the project area. The project would enable subsequent Northeast Corridor chokepoint relief projects in New Jersey.
• $59,200,000 to NJ Transit for Newark Penn Station Vertical Circulation Improvements: The proposed project includes final design and construction to upgrade, rehabilitate, or replace 11 elevators and 17 escalators within Newark Penn Station. The project will improve accessibility and overall passenger circulation throughout the station, which serves Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor services, New Jersey Transit’s commuter rail network and local transit services, and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey’s Port Authority Trans-Hudson transit service.
• $21,600,000 to Amtrak to examine opportunities to increase speeds and reduce travel time between Washington, DC and New York City: The project includes a planning study to identify needs and opportunities to improve service, including operating speeds through on-corridor or adjacent-to-corridor infrastructure improvements along the Northeast Corridor between Washington, DC, and northern New Jersey. The study will inform the planning of improvements to benefit Amtrak’s intercity services, with potential benefits to commuter service operators in Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey.

Work on the Gateway Program has seen “significant” progress in recent months, according to a joint statement from Amtrak and the Gateway Development Commission (GDC).

Construction of the new Portal North Bridge recently passed the 35 percent completion mark, the statement said.

Meanwhile, key elements of the Hudson Tunnel project have advanced, including:

• The Hudson Tunnel Project entered the Engineering Phase of the Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) Capital Investment Grants (CIG) Program, making the project eligible for $6.88 billion in federal grants.
• GDC was selected for a $25 million Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) Grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation for construction of the Tonnelle Avenue Bridge and Utility Relocation Project.
• USDOT’s Build America Bureau is advancing applications for Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing (RRIF) loans to support the Hudson Tunnel Project.
• Five out of nine contemplated Hudson Tunnel Project contracts are in procurement or construction.

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