NEWARK, NJ – U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ), the top-ranking Democrat on the Senate subcommittee overseeing America's rail infrastructure, today submitted his public comment to the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and NJ Transit supporting the construction of a new trans-Hudson rail tunnel as part of the project’s ongoing environmental review process. The third and final public hearing on the project’s Draft Environmental Impact Study (DEIS), which was released in early July, is being held today at Union City High School.
“Our region simply cannot afford to take no action,” Sen. Booker wrote. “I see the Gateway Project, which includes the Hudson Tunnel Project and the replacement of the Portal Bridge in New Jersey as one of the most urgently needed infrastructure projects in the nation. This Hudson Tunnel Project will improve service reliability by reducing delays and enhancing existing outdated infrastructure.”
In order to evaluate the potential impact on humans and the environment of projects like the Hudson Tunnel Project, an environmental review process that includes a public comment period is required under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The Hudson Tunnel Project is just one component of the larger Gateway Program, a comprehensive project including strategic rail infrastructure improvements designed to improve current services and increase capacity.
As part of Sen. Booker’s ongoing commitment to moving the Gateway Program forward, in December 2015 he was joined by U.S. Senators Bob Menendez (D-NJ) and Charles Schumer (D-NY) in announcing provisions benefiting Gateway were included in the Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act, the first Federal law in over ten years to provide long-term funding certainty for surface transportation.
In helping to jumpstart Gateway, in August 2015 Sen. Booker convened a meeting to discuss governance and funding for the Gateway Program.
Coming out of that meeting, in November 2016 the Senators and Governors from New York and New Jersey joined in announcing they reached an agreement on funding commitments and a governance structure that will allow the Gateway Tunnel Project to move forward.
During Commerce Committee markup in April, Sen. Booker citied the crippling impact of the recent derailments in opposing the nomination of Jeff Rosen as Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) due to Mr. Rosen’s lack of commitment to supporting funding for New Starts and other critical programs for our nation’s infrastructure, including the Gateway Program.
In April, Booker, Menendez, Schumer and U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) called on U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary Elaine Chao to visit the century-old rail infrastructure connecting New Jersey and New York, including the trans-Hudson tunnels and Portal Bridge, to see firsthand the critical need for robust investment in our region’s rail and transit infrastructure.
The full text of the letter is as follows:
August 10, 2017
Acting Administrator Heath Hall Steven H. Santoro
U.S. Department of Transportation Executive Director
Federal Railroad Administration NJ TRANSIT
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE One Penn Plaza East
Washington, DC 20590 Newark, NJ 07105
Dear Acting Administrator Hall and Mr. Santoro:
I write in regard to the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) and Draft Section 4(f) Evaluation prepared by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and NJ TRANSIT for the Hudson Tunnel Project. I strongly support the construction of a new rail tunnel under the Hudson River, thereby increasing the reliability of passenger rail service in the region, strengthening the resiliency of the Northeast Corridor, and providing much-needed relief to an overburdened transportation network.
In addition to the construction of a new rail tunnel under the Hudson River from New Jersey to Penn Station New York, the Hudson Tunnel Project also evaluates the reconstruction of the existing North River Tunnel. As you know, the two-track North River Tunnel, which is over 100 years old and was inundated by saltwater during Superstorm Sandy, is in dire need of comprehensive rehabilitation. The North River Tunnel, a lifeline and the only Hudson River crossing on the NEC, is operating at capacity to meet current demand, yet still has become a bottleneck of delays in recent years. A shutdown of just one of the tubes of the existing North River Tunnel will severely reduce capacity from 24 to 6 trains per hour, disrupting service for hundreds of thousands of rail passengers on Amtrak and NJ TRANSIT NEC trains. The North River Tunnel must be revitalized in order to preserve the competence of the busiest rail corridor in the nation.
While this project is of critical importance to the region, it is also a project of national significance. The Northeast Corridor moves a workforce that contributes $50 billion annually to our nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Loss of service on the NEC would result in a loss of $100 million a day in economic productivity. As outlined in the DEIS, when the Hudson Tunnel Project is complete and the North River Tunnel is in service, the NEC will be served by four tracks for the Hudson River crossing between New Jersey and New York. Without the completion of this project, the commuting public will continue to be subject to extreme overcrowding, major delays, and adverse economic impacts as commuters in the workforce spend more time traveling to and from work.
I thank the FRA and NJ TRANSIT for their diligent efforts to evaluate and compile the DEIS for the Hudson Tunnel Project, and for their efforts to advance the vital Gateway Program. Our region simply cannot afford to take no action. I see the Gateway Project, which includes the Hudson Tunnel Project and the replacement of the Portal Bridge in New Jersey, as one of the most urgently needed infrastructure projects in the nation. This Hudson Tunnel Project will improve service reliability by reducing delays and enhancing existing outdated infrastructure.
In conclusion, the project as evaluated in the DEIS will enhance the reliability of Trans-Hudson River commuter rail and provide relief to an already overburdened region. A rehabbed North River tunnel and new Hudson Tunnel will enhance the resiliency of the region’s transportation network as well as the resiliency of the Northeast Region. While this is a project that requires the partnership of agencies and entities at all levels of government, I can assure you that it is not a partisan issue. Commuters in New Jersey, and my constituents, want solutions to the problems and delays that they face each day. I look forward to continuing to work with our partners to advance this project, work to identify and secure the necessary resources, and eventually see this project underway for the betterment of the region and the nation.
Sincerely,
Cory A. Booker
United States Senator
p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; color: #0463c1} p.p3 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: center; font: 12.0px Helvetica} span.s1 {font-kerning: none} span.s2 {text-decoration: underline ; font-kerning: none; color: #0463c1} span.s3 {font-kerning: none; color: #000000} span.s4 {text-decoration: underline ; font-kerning: none}
###