Bloomberg recently reported, citing a Transportation Department spokesperson, that the Hudson Tunnels project "remains ineligible for federal funding because local authorities haven’t committed sufficient funds to the project." The spokesperson also asserted that the Hudson Tunnel application “has not provided documentation demonstrating that even 30 percent of the design has been completed.” The Trump administration’s most recent budget proposal includes no money for the project. “Everyone recognizes the need for this, but we don’t have a partner in the administration who is willing to put the funding in to make sure that a project of national significance like this gets done,” Sigmund said. The Hudson Tunnel would not only create a new two-track tunnel between New Jersey and Manhattan, but it would also repair the existing North River Tunnel, which sustained serious damage during Superstorm Sandy in 2012. The Portal North Bridge is intended to replace the current Portal Bridge “with a new, high-level, two-track fixed span.” It’s expected to help increase rail transit by approximately 11% and decrease delays. There are two key components to the Gateway Program: the Portal North Bridge and the Hudson Tunnel. “There’s no more urgent infrastructure project in the country,” Stephen Sigmund, chief of public outreach for the Gateway Program, asserted to Yahoo Finance. (Photo: Ron Antonelli/Bloomberg via Getty Images)Īnd while the issue seems exclusive to New York and New Jersey, a recent report from the Regional Plan Association warned that a partial Hudson River Tunnel shutdown without a new tunnel “would cost the national economy $16 billion, reduce home values by $22 billion, and lead to decreased economic productivity, job losses, increased congestion, and crashes across the northeastern United States.” The Regional Plan Association is an independent, not-for-profit civic organization. An Amtrak train exits the North River Tunnel in North Bergen, New Jersey, U.S., on Wednesday, March 13, 2019.
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