Court blocks Trump administration’s freezing of Gateway funding
The project would double the number of rail tunnels between New Jersey and Manhattan.
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A federal court has blocked the Trump administration from freezing federal funding for the Gateway Tunnel Project.
New York and New Jersey filed a lawsuit to convince a judge to grant a temporary restraining order to bar the White House from withholding the money. The funds were Congressionally approved.
The judge sided with the states, but only after all work stopped at construction sites on both sides of the Hudson River.
The new tunnels, which would connect New Jersey to Manhattan via rail, have a price tag of $16 billion.
The Trump administration froze the funding last year amid the government shutdown. President Donald Trump himself said the project was terminated.
When the money ran out on Friday, work stopped, forcing thousands of workers off the job.
Elected officials came together on Friday to rally against the president and to call on him to put aside petty politics.
The officials said that the new rail tunnel is critical because the current rail tunnels are 116 years old and are deteriorating. Lawmakers and the Gateway Development Commission have warned that the costs of the project will skyrocket if they have to stop for an extended period of time and restart.
Acting New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport wrote in a statement, “The order issued this evening should ensure that nearly 1,000 workers will be able to keep their jobs and continue their work on the Tunnel, preserving the investments New Jersey and New York have made in this project and preventing further economic damage to our states, while next steps in the case play out.”
It is unclear what the next steps are at the White House and if the Trump administration will fight the decision or restore funding.
