Gateway’s Closed: Hudson Tunnel TroubleThe Gateway
The Gateway Program is an ambitious infrastructure project designed to give new opennings to the Northeastern Corridor (NEC) to New York City, New Jersey and Long Island residents. Also on the program is much needed repairs to deteriorating infrastructure. The NEC holds the busiest rail system in America, connecting metro areas like NYC, Philadelphia and Baltimore among many others, with the busiest section of this being a 10-mile stretch of rail between Newark, New Jersey and Penn Station located in Manhattan. The program hopes to alleviate the pressures caused by this 10-mile stretch. The cornerstone of this massive multi-billion-dollar program is the Hudson Tunnel project, something that has been the source of much debate in recent weeks.
The program's planners and contractors estimate all construction, and repairs will be done by 2035 and estimate a hefty price tag of $16.1 billion. This price tag has many in the current administration, including President Trump, raising some eyebrows. Pres. Trump claims that the federal funds are being misused and that the program is too expensive for what it is. The current administration is going as far as to cut federal funding for the project and has even claimed it to be ‘terminated’. The project has been supported on both sides of the aisle, and many lawmakers are seeing this a personally charged attack on critics of the current administration residing in New York and New Jersey districts, citing that the president's own secretary of transportation has highlighted the importance of the project. Those lawmakers have since stated they will continue to fight for federal funding.
Even though President Trump called the project ‘terminated’ just days ago, as of Oct 21, Tutor Perini, the Los Angeles based general contractor for the project has stated that construction has been continuing as planned. Short term plans are unlikely to be disrupted, however, with a government shutdown entering its third week, and threats from the current administration being thrown around, the long-term threat of disruption is a reality.
The future is unsure for the Hudson Tunnel Project. With over 200,000 daily commuters using the 10 miles of rail between NYC and NJ daily, and the importance of NYC’s link to the NEC on the broader economy, the importance of a resolution between parties cannot be understated.
