Work can begin on the Gateway Tunnel Project now that it is fully funded
Rep. Josh Gottheimer said the final piece was a nearly $7 billion federal investment announced this week.
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A mass transit project that is said to ease travel into New York City has gotten a green light following a significant federal investment.
The $16 billion Gateway Tunnel Project can move forward now that it is fully funded. The idea is to add two new train tunnels going into New York City, and upgrade the two existing ones, doubling the amount to four.
“I think a lot of people thought this would never happen,” says Rep. Josh Gottheimer.
Gottheimer said the final piece was a nearly $7 billion federal investment announced this week. That puts the federal government’s overall contribution over three-quarters of the overall cost.
“It's a very big win for Jersey. It means our taxpayer dollars aren't paying for it…we’re clawing money back to Jersey to help pay for this,” Gottheimer says.
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New Jersey and New York will split the remaining costs - and any overrun.
Work began last fall at Tonnelle Avenue Station in North Bergen. The two new tunnels will run beneath a new bridge.
“We’re going to create a bridge that's going to go through the Palisades. We’ve got to drill a hole through a mountain. You're literally building this, you’ve got to put the pieces together,” the congressman says.
It comes on the heels of a prolonged debate over so-called “congestion pricing” that would have raised the price to enter Manhattan’s Business District
Officials say that adding train lines could have some of the same effect without the rate hike.
“You can't put the cart before the horse. You’ve got to actually build more capacity. You’ve got to build the Gateway Train Tunnel. You need more support for mass transit,” Gottheimer says. “And then when you have more mass transit, fewer people will get in their cars because they have an option.”
The project isn’t set to finish until 2035. That’s when crews will upgrade the existing tunnels.
