“We assure you that, if we have the funding, we will get it done”, wrote Cuomo, a Democrat, and Christie, a Republican. They sent a joint letter to the President writing ‘our shovels are ready!’
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The governors have broad support from both states’ congressional delegations, which have suggested several sources of federal funding.
“Everyone knows we need to build a tunnel”, Cuomo told reporters, including WCBS 880’s Rich Lamb, on Tuesday.
“This is a remarkable day”. That project, also known as the ARC tunnel, would have doubled rail service between the two states once it was completed in 2018. “A stroke of wonderful fortune”. While they did not identify any actual funding sources of their own, they said the federal government must do so in order to proceed. Wiesniewski also opposed naming the Port Authority as the lead agency, after it had demonstrated “competence and credibility” problems, exemplified by the George Washington Bridge lane closure scandal. Along with the old tunnel repairs and infrastructure improvements on the New Jersey side, the project would likely cost north of $20 billion.
When asked recently about funding for the planned rail tunnel, Cuomo unenthusiastically said it wasn’t his tunnel.
The tunnel “never let him go”. Last month, an Amtrak official said the project would enter the permitting phase this fall. “It was something he couldn’t get away from”.
Last month, Cuomo joined Christie in his frustration and felt that New York should not have to pay for the tunnel as well, stating that it is more Amtrak’s and New Jersey Transit’s tunnel than it is New York’s.
The head of the New Jersey Department of Transportation released a written statement applauding Christie and Cuomo and talking about the importance of the Gateway project to the entire Northeast region. “To realize it wasn’t just a hypothetical, but a kind of inevitability that the system would break down if we don’t invest in it, changed attitudes and perspectives on this a great deal”. He called the governors’ funding proposal “fair and reasonable” and said he would work to get congressional approval.
“Finally, there is light at the beginning of the tunnel”, Schumer said in a statement, calling the governors’ offer “significant and welcome progress”.
“There’s a lot of moving parts and a lot of planning that is necessary”. Both said they would do the same in their respective states.
“We will work towards the goal of an equitable split between the states and the federal government using our existing grant and financing programs and whatever new resources can be provided by Congress”, Foxx continued. “The ARC project costs far more than New Jersey taxpayers can afford and the only prudent move is to end this project”. “Compared to yesterday, at least there’s a real proposal on the table”, Wright said in an interview with WNYC.
Other Senate Democratic leaders likewise praised the announcement. “That played a major role”.
This is not the first proposal for how to fund the new tunnels.
Another open question is the exact structure of the entities that will plan, pull together the financing, and build the tunnel and related infrastructure.
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Credit Sen. Chuck Schumer for nudging Cuomo and Christie into regional teamwork.
