It had been one of the Obama Administration's transportation priorities. The question is: Will it be one of the Trump Administration's?
U.S. Senator Bob Menendez, the ranking member of the Senate’s Mass Transit Subcommittee, met on Jan.18 with U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) Secretary-designate Elaine Chao to impress upon her that advancing the Gateway project to replace the aging Hudson River rail tunnels must be the nation’s top transportation infrastructure priority in the Trump Administration.
The senator walked Secretary Chao, who led the U.S. Labor Department under President George W. Bush, through the complexities of the Gateway project, noting that it has bipartisan support from both New Jersey and New York governors, the states’ four U.S. senators, and regional transportation agencies.
“Gateway is one of the largest and most complex transportation projects in the country. Failure to complete the project in a timely manner would be a disaster for businesses and commuters in our region, and to the nation’s economy. I don’t believe we can be successful in this effort without the support of the Department of Transportation,” Sen. Menendez said.
The Obama Administration has made Gateway a priority, placing the project on the Presidential Dashboard to expedite permitting and environmental reviews. USDOT is also a party to the Gateway Development Corporation (GDC), created to oversee the project, and controls discretionary funds that will be critical to fulfilling the federal funding obligation to complete the project, notably from the New Starts program. The Hudson tunnels and century-old Portal Bridge are already in the New Starts pipeline for funding.
The Northeast Corridor accounts for $3.6 trillion in economic activity, or one-fifth of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The cost of a disruption in rail service through the Hudson tunnels, which were severely damaged by Superstorm Sandy and nearing their end of life, would cost an estimated $100 million a day.
“It’s vital that we have a new set of Hudson tunnels complete before we have to repair the existing ones. If we lost just one tunnel, we’d go from 24 trains an hour down to six to accommodate two-direction traffic,” said Sen. Menendez.
During the meeting, the senator also stressed the need for a robust infrastructure investment plan—that includes actual funding, not just tax breaks and financing gimmicks—to address the nation’s $90 billion state-of-good-repair backlog, while creating a 21st Century transportation system.