THE US Department of Transportation (USDOT) has issued letters informing New York that two major rail infrastructure projects within the state, the Second Avenue Subway and the Hudson Tunnel, are under administrative review and that federal funding payments cannot be processed while this review is in progress.
According to a statement issued by USDOT on October 1, these payments include a $US 300m disbursement for the Second Avenue Subway, while the remaining federal funding for this and the Hudson Tunnel project totals nearly $US 18bn.
The statement says that the review is being undertaken “to determine whether any unconstitutional practices are occurring.” It follows an interim final rule (IFR) issued by USDOT to remove “race and sex-based presumptions of social and economic disadvantage that violate the US constitution” from its Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) programme, intended to favour small businesses when awarding contracts for federally-funded projects.
According to the statement, the position of US transportation secretary, Sean Duffy, on the DBE programme is clear. “Subsidising infrastructure contracts with taxpayer dollars based on discriminatory principles is unconstitutional, counter to civil rights laws, and a waste of taxpayer resources,” USDOT says.
USDOT adds that it is focusing on the Second Avenue Subway and Hudon Tunnel projects “because they are arguably the largest infrastructure initiatives in the Western Hemisphere, and the American people want to see them completed quickly and efficiently.”
The statement notes, however, that the timescale for completing the project review will be lengthened by the shutdown of the federal government, which came into effect on October 1 after Congress failed to pass necessary funding legislation.
“Without a budget, the department has been forced to furlough the civil rights staff responsible for conducting this review,” USDOT says. “This is another unfortunate casualty of radical Democrats’ reckless decision to hold the federal government hostage.”
Response
In response, Thomas Prendergast, CEO of the Gateway Development Commission (GDC) that is delivering the Hudson Tunnel project, said: “GDC complies with all federal laws and regulations, and will continue to do so throughout the project.”
He added that GDC looks forward to continuing its “productive relationship” with the Trump administration, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and USDOT.
“In the meantime, we remain focused on keeping the project on scope, schedule, and budget," Prendergast says.
“This is political payback and an attack on New York and its residents,” says the governor of New York, Kathy Hochul.
“We will use every tool available to us to restore this funding and ensure that these critical infrastructure projects get built.”
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