Yesterday Governors Phil Murphy and Kathy Hochul signed an agreement to have New Jersey and New York split the cost of the new Gateway Tunnel and a bridge to replace the 111 year old portal bridge. Both states will share the costs not covered by the federal government. As of now the total cost of a new tunnel under the Hudson River and a new bridge over the Hackensack River is estimated to be over $14 Billion. The federal government is expected to cover about half of that. The North Tunnels which currently are used by New Jersey Transit and Amtrak Trains have been in use since 1910. Governor Murphy said "Today marks a pivotal milestone toward the completion of the most significant transportation project not just in New Jersey but in the United States." Work on a new Portal Bridge will begin right away. Work on the new tunnel under the Hudson River will start next year. As many of you know I love trains. Riding over the Portal Bridge on an Amtrak or New Jersey Transit Train can be a little scary. It's one of the busiest rail bridges in the United States and it's showing it's age. The North Tunnels were built by the Penn Central Railroad and have out lasted their life expectancy of 100 years. No one thinks these two essential parts of our infrastructure didn't need replacing. The issue has always been the price tag and where the money will come from. $14 Billion is a lot of money for taxpayers. Let's hope the new Gateway Tunnel and Portal Bridge serve us as well as the old structures they're replacing did.
Source: New Jersey Herald
Photo: Bloomberg via Getty Images