Transportation Secretary says it is time for Gateway Project work, but N.Y. Gov. Cuomo says there are other needs
Written by RT&S Staff
The MTA and LIRR are now building a permanent bridge in the Village of Garden City.
LIRR
Holding up corroded wire from the Hudson River tunnels, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said it is time to begin major construction on the Gateway Project.
Secretary Buttigieg toured the Hudson River tunnels on June 28 with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) on an Amtrak observation train, and afterwards stressed the need to advance work on the tunnel system.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo continued to resist when it comes to paying his state’s share for Hudson River tunnel work. He wants a more economical method to make the repairs, and in a statement on June 28 said there are other pressing infrastructure needs like extending the Second Avenue Subway line and executing the East Side Access plan to improve commuter rail access into Manhattan.
“It is imperative that we use our state funds in a cost-effective manner to do as much work as possible,” Cuomo said in a statement.
Schumer, however, said that New York funding will not be an issue for the tunnel work, and that construction might even begin a year earlier in 2022. The $11.6 billion Gateway Project could take up to seven years to complete.
President Biden’s proposed budget could help provide the Gateway Project with federal funds sooner than a multiyear infrastructure bill that continues to be debated in Washington.
Read more articles on rail tunnels.
