TRENTON, N.J. (WCBS 880) — President Joe Biden’s massive infrastructure bill is seeking to rebuild America’s transit routes and leaders from the Northeast this week said it’s working.
Transit officials and advocates from the Tri-State went to Capitol Hill this week, where they told lawmakers on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee that the money from Biden’s $1 trillion bill is already being put to use.
New Jersey Transit President Kevin Corbett told lawmakers that while there is still a lot the agency needs to get done, construction on the Gateway Tunnel Project has been priority No.1 – as it is slotted to build tunnels under the Hudson River that will connect the Northeast with the rest of the United States.
Corbett said work on those tunnels – which are over 110-years-old – should has started years ago, as they are vital to the country’s economy.
“Every year the region served by the Northeast Corridor (NEC) provides more than 24 million jobs and produces about 20% of the nation's GDP,” Corbett explained.
Corbett noted funding from the bill will also be set aside for the C35 project, which will give people a one seat ride on several lines from New Jersey to Penn Station, in order to boost the number of trains set to serve commuters.
“C35 will allow for the number of daily NEC Amtrak trains to grow by a third and allow us at NJ Transit, for example, to more than double our peak hour service,” he said.
While Felicia Park-Rogers, with the Tri State Transportation Campaign, noted that many projects in the Tri-State area could take decades to complete, the funding provided by Congress will greatly improve mass transit for years to come.
“Our country has underinvested for so long in our rail network but, I think we're gonna see dramatic improvements,” she said.
Park-Rogers said the Gateway Tunnel Project is already “moving forward at a very fast clip” and a hearing is scheduled for Monday in New York City to highlight some of the progress.
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