Dive Brief:
- During a public progress report on the $24 billion Northeast Corridor Atlantic Gateway initiative, New Jersey and New York officials said plans for a new Hudson River rail tunnel would not be hindered by political infighting, according to the Associated Press.
- Officials said the project provides economic benefit for the region, and there are no anticipated reasons for a holdup.
- Fast-tracked environmental permitting for the tunnel project is currently underway and should be finished in 2018.
Dive Insight:
A previous attempt on the part of New Jersey to build a rail tunnel collapsed under the weight of cost overruns and did not have New York support.
A more recent example of a fractured regional decision-making process is that of the fight over how New Jersey and New York should divide costs for a proposed $31 billion Port Authority of New York and New Jersey infrastructure program, which would include a new multibillion-dollar Port Authority bus terminal. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo came to an agreement on how the fund should be split, but Port Authority officials have held up a vote to consider the plan further.
The Port Authority recently came to an agreement on a $300 million funding package for the replacement of the Portal Bridge, which spans the Hackensack River in New Jersey. That project is also part of the Gateway program, which was established to improve rail connectivity along the Northeast Corridor.
