NEW YORK (WCBS 880/AP) — Federal regulators have given a key approval to a $10 billion project to build a new train tunnel under the Hudson River between New York and New Jersey.
The Federal Transit Administration announced Thursday it had upgraded the project's rating. That makes it eligible to pursue federal grants.
The widely anticipated move came after years of lower ratings by the FTA during the Trump administration, which had clashed with New York and New Jersey over how much money the states had committed to pay to build the tunnel.
Under an understanding reached during the administration of former President Barack Obama, the states had agreed to split half the cost of the tunnel, using federal loans to be paid back over decades, with federal grants accounting for the other half.
Former President Donald Trump essentially halted the plans, but President Joe Biden’s administration has allowed it to move forward agai.
“The Gateway Hudson Tunnel project is one of the most critically important infrastructure investments of our generation, and the new favorable project rating is proof of President Biden's ongoing commitment to fighting for and investing in our nation's transit networks,” New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a statement.
She added she will “continue to stand with our partners at the federal level and with [New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy] to keep Gateway's momentum going and ensure that we secure the necessary federal funding.”
In his own statement, Murphy noted that the rating upgrade is great news for the hundreds of New Jersey commuters who rely on the Hudson River rail tunnels to get to and from work in New York City.
“The day many commuters never thought they’d ever see is finally coming. We are closer than ever to securing a fairly and fully funded Gateway Program and beginning the work of delivering the safe and modern infrastructure our people and economy deserve,” he said.
The current 111-year-old tunnel has continued to be a regular source of delays due to aging infrastructure.
State officials are hoping to push the Gateway Tunnel project to close the aging tunnels to build new passageways parallel to the existing ones.
Once upgrades are completed, the existing tunnel would be taken out of service for a complete overhaul, estimated to take as long as two years.
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