New York, NY – After years of stops and starts, a long anticipated and sorely needed project is finally becoming a reality.
On Jan. 31, U.S. President Joseph R. Biden came to the tri-state and met with NJ Gov. Phil Murphy and NY Gov. Kathy Hochul to celebrate the bipartisan infrastructure law that was passed not long ago. Of course, the biggest component was funding for what had been dubbed the Gateway Tunnel project, which will replace the current and extremely aged tunnel connecting NJ & NY.
“The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is delivering real results for the American people. Thank you, @POTUS, for providing nearly $300 million for the Hudson Tunnel Project – creating over 70,000 good-paying jobs and easing commutes between New Jersey and New York,” Murphy posted on Twitter.
Among the other dignitaries on hand were New Jersey’s U.S. Senators Cory Booker and Bob Menendez, NY counterparts Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, New York City Mayor Eric Adams, and U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
Here now are remarks made by President Biden during his visit:
“This project is critical to transforming the Northeast Corridor, increasing speeds, capacity, reliability, and safety. In addition to getting folks out of cars and onto trains, we’re going to help the environment as well, because we’re going to – all the studies show – and I’ve been harping on this since the mid-70s – that every study shows: If you can get from point A to point B on rail as fast or faster than you can in an automobile, you don’t take the car. You get in the train.
“And that’s how important this project is for up to 200,000 passengers who take Amtrak or New Jersey Transit under the Hudson River every single day. And, you know, it matters a lot: the Northeast Corridor from here to Boston, Boston to Washington, all the way down.
“For years, people talked about fixing this tunnel. But thanks to the leadership of Chuck in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we’re finally getting this done.
“This law is the most significant investment in rail – the most significant investment in rail since we created Amtrak over 50 years ago. And billions – billions are going to projects along the Northeast Corridor, including replacing the existing Hudson Tunnel. That’s why it’s so important.
“Two thousand two hundred trains – 2,200 trains run along the Northeast Corridor every single day. It’s the busiest corridor in the United States of America and one of the busiest in the world.
“And the problem – a problem anywhere along the line means delays up and down the East Coast for folks trying to get to work, businesses trying to ship goods, travelers trying to get to see their families.
“And, by the way, as a U.S. senator, I commuted, for 36 years, every single solitary day the Senate was in session. I traveled over 1,100,000 miles on Amtrak. And I can tell you where all the delays were. And they weren’t all in Wilmington, Delaware.
“So I know it to be a fact. If this line shut down for just one day, it would cost the American economy $100 million a day, in cost.
“The current Hudson River rail tunnel can be a major choke point – a critical link to New York Penn Station, the busiest train station in all of America.
This tunnel opened for business in 1910, 113 years ago. And the structure is literally deteriorating. The roof is leaking. The floor is sinking. Plus, it was badly damaged by Superstorm Sandy. I was the Vice President then. I came and walked through this tunnel. You ought to see it.
“Today, over 10 years later, there’s still remnants of seawater in the tunnel, eating away at the concrete, the steel, and the electrical components within the tunnel.
“In 2020, there were over 12,000 minutes in delay in just one year – 12,000 minutes of delay. The United States of America. What – for God’s sake, what are we doing? This is the United States of America. We know better. We’re so much brighter than that. And now we’re going to prove it.
“We’re going to rebuild the existing tunnel. But we can’t do that until we build a brand new, entirely second – an entirely different and separate tunnel. You can’t fix the old first one without building the new one. And it’s going to run at faster speeds with no interruptions – it’ll be running at 100 miles an hour – while the original tunnel is under construction. That’ll mean fewer delays, less risk of major shutdowns.
“The new tunnel is going to have two tubes with one track in each tube so that you can keep operating even if one side breaks down. But it’s going to be safer, more resilient, more reliable, and the biggest rail line in the United States of America.
“And to get it done, as a first step, we’re completing the concrete casing under the Hudson Yards…Hudson Yards sits above where the new tunnel will connect to Penn Station. This is a critical step for everything else we’re going to do in the Corridor and rail, period.
“As you may know, work started in Hudson Yards site in 2013 but stalled due to lack of funding. But thanks to the “Bipartisan” Infrastructure Law, we now have the money, and we’re finally going to get it done.
“When the project is complete, trains will be in and out of New York more quickly, more safely, and with fewer interruptions.
“This is only one part though of the overall Gateway Program to improve train travel between New York and New Jersey.
“For example, last year, we also broke ground on the Portal North Bridge. And thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we’re rebuilding two other critical bridges – Saw-Tooth and Dock Bridge, both in North Jersey.
“All told, this is one of the biggest and most consequential projects in the country. But it’s going to take time. It’s a multi-billion-dollar effort between the states and the federal government. But we finally have the money, and we’re going to get it done. I promise you, we’re going to get it done…
“…Although there’s much more to do about what we’re going to do to modernize the modern rail, let me close with this. The Americans see these projects popping up across the country, and it sends an important message: that we’re going to – when we work together, like we did in the bipartisan law, in the CHIPS law, there’s nothing we can’t do. Nothing.
“When in the hell has America ever, ever, ever set a goal that it didn’t reach? When has it ever? Name me a time. Name me a time when America has gone through a crunch and didn’t come out stronger on the other side than went in.
“We can get really big things done. We’re sort of losing confidence in ourselves. We can do anything. We really can. We can move this nation forward. We can send another message as well: a message of pride – pride in our country; pride in what we can do together; a sense of self-worth, knowing you can provide for your family.
“So I’ve long said it’s been a really bad bet to bet against America. And I can honestly say, as I stand here today, and I give you my word as a Biden, I’ve never been more optimistic about America’s prospects in my entire life. We just have to remember who the hell we are. We are the United States of America. There’s nothing beyond our capacity. Nothing at all. And it’s starting right here.
“God bless you all. And may God protect our troops. Thank you.”
