Source: United States Senator for New Jersey Bob Menendez
WASHINTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), a senior member of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, today outlined the critical need of completing the Gateway Project, including building a new Portal North Bridge and Hudson River rail tunnels. After the Hudson River tunnel project received an updated rating earlier this year, the project was included in President Biden’s FY23 budget request.
“Broadly, Gateway aims to modernize the rail infrastructure along a 10-mile segment of the Northeast Corridor connecting New Jersey to New York Penn Station,” said Sen. Menendez during a committee hearing on public transportation. “This critical stretch of track carries over 200,000 daily Amtrak and NJ Transit passenger trips on approximately 450 trains, and is a linchpin of the entire Northeast Corridor—a region that accounts for 20% of our national GDP.”
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Today’s witness, Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Administrator Nuria Fernandez agreed with the critical importance of completing the Gateway Project. Sen. Menendez called the project one of “national significance”, noting that the Northeast Corridor generates one-fifth of the nation’s economy. The NEC Commission estimates that a disruption of the NEC from Boston to Washington, D.C. would cost the country $100 million a day in lost production and economic activity.
During the hearing, Senator Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) questioned the need for strong federal support for transit agencies in light of lower ridership during the pandemic. Sen. Menendez highlighted the recent report by the Regional Planning Association which confirmed the continued need for the Gateway project and found that trans-Hudson ridership would return to or exceed pre-pandemic levels by the time the new Hudson River tunnels are built, and would exceed pre-pandemic levels by 15-32 percent by 2050.
“So yes, our transit agencies, like other industries, were hit hard by the pandemic, but the fact remains that transit will remain a vital and growing part of our transportation mix, and I’m proud of the much-needed investments that the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law makes in modernizing our transit systems,” Sen. Menendez said.
Last week, New Jersey and New York signed a Memorandum of Understanding, which outlines sources, uses, and timing of funding on behalf of the two states for the Gateway Project, moving the project closer towards completion.
Earlier this year, Sen. Menendez and Senator Cory Booker applauded the Biden Administration’s announcement that the Hudson River Tunnels received an upgraded “medium-high” rating under the Capital Investment Grants program, making the project eligible to move forward. The Trump Administration previously gave the tunnel project a “medium-low” rating. Completion of this project will allow the old tunnels to be temporarily taken out of service and repaired. Last year, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) approved the required Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on the tunnel project that was delayed more than three years by the Trump Administration.
In early 2021, NJ TRANSIT and the FTA finalized a Full Funding Grant Agreement for the Portal North Bridge project, a key component of Gateway, allowing it to access over $800 million in federal funding primarily through the CIG program. After four years of arbitrary delays, unsubstantiated rating cuts and other roadblocks put up during the Trump Administration, the Full Funding Grant Agreement allows construction of a new Portal North Bridge to move forward. The 110-year-old, antiquated, swing-style span over the Hackensack River in Kearny has long been considered the linchpin of the entire Northeast Corridor (NEC) and the source of major service disruptions for Amtrak and NJ TRANSIT riders, and carries an average 450 trains and 200,000 passengers each day.