NE News Consortium

Commuter trains passing under the Hudson River between New Jersey and New York, including NJ Transit lines, travel two a pair of 105-year-old rail tunnels.

(Star-Ledger file photo)

By Stephen Sweeney



For months, we have been pushing the Port Authority to take a lead role in financing a new rail tunnel to expand mass transit to high-paying jobs in Manhattan for New Jersey commuters and to prevent the economic catastrophe and commuting nightmare that would occur if either of the 105-year-old rail tunnels ravaged by Sandy has to close for repairs before a new tunnel can be built.



On Thursday, Port Authority Chairman John Degnan responded by pledging that the bi-state agency would "step up to the plate" as an active partner in expediting construction of the Gateway tunnel, which Amtrak and New Jersey Transit will share. Degnan's announcement, which reverses the Port Authority's previous position, is just the latest - but perhaps the most important - leadership step he has taken in his 10 months at the agency.



Just as important, Peter Rogoff , an under secretary in the federal Transportation Department, announced on the same day that President Obama considers the Gateway rail tunnel to be the nation's No. 1 rail transportation priority, ensuring that the project will go to the top of the federal funding list for rail projects.



We now have a unique opportunity for federal and state leaders to come together to agree on a funding plan to get the tunnel built as the first stage of an overall plan that would double trans-Hudson rail ridership capacity by 2040 and finally provide "one seat" rides for commuters on all northern and central New Jersey rail lines.



Jump-starting this project would create tens of thousands of jobs, spur economic growth, increase income and raise homeowner real estate values at a time when New Jersey ranks near the bottom in both economic and job growth. It is an economic must.



We in the Senate leadership have already proposed using the billions of dollars the Port Authority plans to generate from its sale of non-transportation-related real estate and other capital funds to provide a $3 billion regional match for the new rail tunnel, and to fully fund the reconstruction and expansion of the dilapidated Port Authority Bus Terminal to accommodate similarly-large-scale bus ridership growth.

The Port Authority is already reviewing plans for a new bus terminal, for which we have Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg (D-Bergen) and Degnan to thank.

Now that Obama, Degnan, the U.S. Department of Transportation and Amtrak are on board, it's time for Gov. Chris Christie and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo to add their commitment to the Port Authority playing a lead role in providing the regional match to fast track the Gateway tunnel.

Amtrak chairman Tony Coscia and Rogoff both pointed out at the Port Authority's Trans-Hudson Transportation Summit last Thursday that we lost 10 years because of Gov. Christie's cancellation of the Access to the Region's Core (ARC) rail tunnel project in 2010 - 10 years of lost economic growth, 10 years of longer commutes and clogged highways, 10 years of lost job and income opportunities.

Gov. Christie now has a second chance to make it right. The Gateway rail tunnel will provide direct access to New York's Penn Station, which the ARC project did not do, as the governor pointed out.

With the damage to the existing rail tunnels caused by Sandy, we cannot afford to wait.

If either tunnel has to close for 18 months for repairs, Amtrak and NJ Transit will be cut from 24 rush-hour trains an hour, pushing up to 75,000 rail commuters into buses and cars, creating additional backups on highways, tunnels and bridges and onto already-crowded PATH trains.

Coscia, a New Jerseyan who understands the threat to both interstate commerce and the region's economy posed by any shutdown of the Sandy-damaged tunnels, made sure Amtrak pumped $185 million into construction of the Hudson Yards tunnel casements to preserve the only direct rail route into Penn Station.



He is making sure that Amtrak is moving ahead with plans for the reconstruction of the Portal Bridge over the Hackensack River as the necessary first step in increasing the Northeast Corridor from two tracks to four, with two heading into the new Gateway tunnel. But Amtrak needs to know that our region's funding commitment will be there for the 10-year project.



We are fortunate to have the enthusiastic personal backing of the President, as well as key bipartisan support on Capitol Hill. Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), ranking Democrat on the Senate Surface Transportation Subcommittee, highlighted the need for the rail tunnel at a hearing in Newark last week, and Rep. Frank LoBiondo (R-N.J.), a House Transportation subcommittee chair, played a lead role in ensuring that recent legislation guaranteed that revenue earned by Amtrak on its profitable Boston-to-Washington line would stay in the Northeast Corridor, which could be critical as the Gateway project moves ahead.



It is time for the governor to join us in putting the Gateway tunnel on the fast track to completion.



Sen. Stephen Sweeney (D-Gloucester) is President of the New Jersey Senate.



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