THE Gateway Development Commission (GDC) has welcomed a decision by a New York federal judge to unfreeze federal government funding withheld by the Trump administration for the Hudson Tunnel Project in New York City.
Work was suspended on the $US 16bn scheme, one of the largest infrastructure projects in the United States, on February 6 resulting in the immediate loss of 1000 jobs. However, the GDC is hopeful that the ruling will mean that disbursements will resume soon.
In a temporary ruling, US District judge, Jeannette Vargas, stated that the states of New York and New Jersey are likely to succeed in their claims that a Trump administration directive freezing funding was arbitrary and contrary to legal procedure for making policy changes. The states filed a lawsuit against the federal government on February 6 seeking the release of funds promised for the project, as well as damages incurred since October when the federal funding was frozen.
Work has been underway on the Hudson Tunnel Project to construct a new rail tunnel between Manhattan and New Jersey since November 2023. The new tunnel will ease pressure on the existing 116-year-old North River Tunnel, which is used by 425 trains and 200,000 passengers every day. It is in poor condition and is a frequent cause of train delays, resulting mainly from damage caused by Hurricane Sandy in 2012.
The federal government had agreed to fund 70% of the cost of the project, with the remainder provided by the states of New York and New Jersey. However, the US Department of Transportation (USDOT) began withholding federal funding for the Hudson Tunnel along with the Second Avenue Subway project in New York City in October, stating that the requests for payment could not be processed pending a review of the projects that it had ordered.
GDC warned during a board meeting on January 27 that available funding and credit used to keep the project going would run out on February 6, forcing the suspension of work.
“After spending more than $US 1bn, and countless hours of hard work, on this project, we will be left with empty construction sites in New York and New Jersey,” says GDC CEO, Tom Prendergast.
Trump Station?
There had been suggestions that US president, Donald Trump, had proposed renaming Penn Station in New York or Dulles International Airport in Washington, DC, after him in exchange for the release of federal funding for the Hudson Tunnel Project. Trump denied the reports when questioned by reporters on February 9, according to Reuters, and did not comment on Vargas’ decision. USDOT has also not publicly commented on the project since work was suspended.
GDC says an extended suspension will put at risk approximately 11,000 construction jobs, as well as the 95,000 jobs and $US 19.6bn in economic activity that construction is anticipated to generate overall. It adds that delays to the project increase the risk that the North River Tunnel, which is due to be extensively refurbished under the project, will have to close.
“GDC will continue to do everything in our power to get our funding restored and deliver the most urgent infrastructure project in the country,” Prendergast says.
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