Hudson River tunnel construction in 1905
By Larry Higgs | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
A long-awaited environmental approval that will move New York and New Jersey one step closer to building two new rail tunnels under the Hudson River has been granted by federal officials, after a three-year-delay from a promised 2018 date.
Federal Railroad Administration officials approved a Record of Decision Friday for the Environmental Impact Study for the tunnel project between New Jersey and New York, that’s part of the larger Gateway Project. That will allow rehabilitation of the existing 110-year-old tunnels currently used by 450-plus Amtrak and NJ Transit trains a day.
“This is a big step for the Northeast and the entire country as these tunnels connect so many people, jobs and businesses,” said Pete Buttigieg, U.S. Transportation Secretary. “This decision is also an important reminder we are still capable of working together to advance ambitious projects together that can make life better for people, connect communities, and deliver a stronger future.”
The announcement comes 10 years and three months after Amtrak proposed the first iteration of the Gateway Project in February 2011 in response to the October 2010 cancelation of the ARC tunnel project by Gov. Chris Christie over concerns about cost overruns.
The decision represents a “collective sigh of relief” for commuters, Gateway supporters, and the bistate congressional delegation, which fought to keep the project alive, said Tony Coscia, Amtrak board chairman and Gateway Development Commission vice chairman.
“The Gateway project was always about this big infrastructure project that will make a big difference,” he said. “It will have an impact on the ease and reliability of the commute.”
Tunnel issues, from overhead electric power to signal failures, have been a vexing problem for NJ Transit commuters and Amtrak passengers alike, resulting in hours of delays, with the potential to send a routine trip into disarray. The two tunnels also were a large bottleneck on Amtrak’s busy Northeast Corridor line.
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