NY Tunnel Project Remains Stalled After Feds Appeal Court Order

NEW YORK CITY — Sixteen billion dollars in funding for the Gateway Tunnel projects remains frozen after the Trump administration appealed the court order to release money on Monday.

U.S. District Judge Jeannette Vargas allowed the U.S. Department of Transportation for a stay of the temporary restraining order while it appeals her decision. A federal appeals court hearing is set for Wednesday, CBS News reported.

On Feb. 6, Vargas ordered the Trump administration to unfreeze the funds meant for the Gateway Tunnel project.

The decision was expected to allow work to resume at the site. However, construction remained paused as of Monday – with layoff notices recently issued to nearly 1,000 construction workers.

On Monday, more than 200 unionized workers held a rally in North Bergen on the New Jersey side of the Gateway Tunnel, demanding that the Trump administration release funds for the project.

Their message? “Stop playing politics with our jobs,” union leaders say.

The Gateway tunnel project aims to build a new rail tunnel under the Hudson River between New York and New Jersey that would carry Amtrak and other local transit trains.

In addition, they are repairing an existing 116-year-old rail tunnel that was damaged by Super storm Sandy in 2012. Construction work began in 2023 and gained federal funding after approval from then-president Joe Biden.

Vargas wrote in her decision that plaintiffs had "adequately shown that the public interest would be harmed by a delay in a critical infrastructure project."

The Trump administration put a hold on funding in September during the government shutdown. At the time they said the spending was based on unconstitutional diversity, equity and inclusion principles.

According to the lawsuit, the federal government hasn’t sent any funds for the project since October. New York and New Jersey are owed more than $200 million.

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