NJ and NY Move on New Hudson Tunnel
New Jersey has committed nearly $2 billion towards the funding of a new Hudson River rail tunnel. New York has committed $1.75 billion on its end to fund the joint project.
This is in response to the program to expand and renovate Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor line, which plays a major role in the metro NY-NJ hub of road, rail and air.
New York is expecting to fund its end through bond offerings and New Jersey expects to hit the citizen ranks again by charging NJ Transit rail passengers.
This comes on the heels of last year’s historic 23-cent gasoline tax law, raising New Jersey’s gasoline tax from the one of the lowest in the nation to one of the highest.
The total program is projected to cost $12.7 billion, making it one of the nation’s most expensive infrastructure programs.
The announcement by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and outgoing New Jersey Governor Chris Christie resolves questions about how the states would fulfill a promise to provide half of the funds toward the $12.7 billion Gateway Hudson Tunnel Project.
According to a number of other reports, The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is going to commit an additional $1.9 billion to the project.
The project will include the costs for building a new tunnel in addition to renovating the current tunnel.
Officials believe that the century-old structure could become unusable in as little as ten years, if these measures are not undertaken.
NJ Transit, which is the state’s public transportation corporation, stated that it would increase charges on NJ Transit rail passenger trips across the Hudson to $1.70 in 2028 and $2.20 in 2038 from $.90 beginning in 2020.
New Jersey, New York and The Port Authority will account for half of the project costs, while the federal government will pay the other half, as decided under a framework agreement in 2015.