Bill Text: NJ SR155 | 2016-2017 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Condemns indication by Federal Transit Administration of withdrawal of federal support from Hudson Tunnel Project.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-1)
Status: (Passed) 2018-01-08 - Filed with Secretary of State [SR155 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2016-SR155-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Senator LORETTA WEINBERG
District 37 (Bergen)
Senator ROBERT M. GORDON
District 38 (Bergen and Passaic)
Co-Sponsored by:
Senators Sweeney and T.Kean
SYNOPSIS
Condemns indication by Federal Transit Administration of withdrawal of federal support from Hudson Tunnel Project.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
A Senate Resolution condemning the indication by the Federal Transit Administration of withdrawal of federal support from the Hudson Tunnel Project.
Whereas, Built in 1910, the pair of Hudson River tunnel tubes are critical rail passenger crossings between New Jersey and New York Pennsylvania Station, and are essential to local and regional economies and the daily transportation of people into and out of New York City; and
Whereas, The tunnel is one of the busiest sections along the Northeast Corridor, connecting Washington, D.C. and Boston, Massachusetts, and facilitates the movement of approximately 450 trains per week day and 200,000 passengers each day; and
Whereas, Superstorm Sandy damaged the tunnel's century-old infrastructure when it inundated the tunnel with sea water and caused deterioration of certain tunnel elements; and
Whereas, Due to the tunnel's aging infrastructure and the damage caused by Superstorm Sandy, the National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak) estimates that the tunnel has approximately 10 to 20 years of service left; and
Whereas, Each of the tunnel's tubes will need to be shut down for more than one year to rebuild and replace the tunnel's components, which will dramatically reduce trans-Hudson rail capacity by 75 percent; and
Whereas, A new two-track Hudson River tunnel is needed to increase future growth capacity and support current capacity for travel throughout the region while the existing tunnel is rebuilt and replaced; and
Whereas, A new Hudson River tunnel has been included in a larger rail transportation project, Amtrak's Gateway Program, to increase rail capacity along the Northeast Corridor and accommodate future rail passenger demand for both Amtrak and New Jersey Transit Corporation services; and
Whereas, If started immediately, construction of a new tunnel and replacement of the existing tunnel would take at least 10 years and cost billions of dollars, but construction of a new tunnel cannot progress without a viable funding proposal and federal grant assistance; and
Whereas, In a letter dated September 2015, the Governor of New Jersey and the Governor of New York presented a funding proposal where both states, along with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, would develop a funding plan to pay for half of the project's costs, if the federal government agreed to provide grants to pay for the other half; and
Whereas, In November 2015, the Governor of New Jersey and the Governor of New York, along with Senators representing both states, announced an agreement to fund the Hudson Tunnel Project, whereby the United States Department of Transportation (US DOT) and Amtrak agreed to pay for the other half of the project's costs; and
Whereas, On December 29, 2017, the Deputy Administrator of the Federal Transit Administration revoked the promises made by the federal government by indicating disapproval of the funding plan proposed by the states, denying the obligation of the US DOT to adhere to the split funding agreement between the states and the federal government, denying the existence of the split funding agreement, and downplaying the importance of the Hudson Tunnel Project by describing the project as a local project that only impacts local transit riders; and
Whereas, The FTA, through its failure to recognize the magnitude that a new Hudson River rail tunnel would have on the region, has failed to recognize this project as an integral part of the regional economy that contributes substantially to the nation's gross domestic product and provides hundreds of billions of tax dollars to the federal government each year; and
Whereas, New Jersey and New York have taken critical steps to move this vital project forward and their efforts to secure federal funding should not be thwarted by the federal agencies that are supposed to support these efforts; now, therefore,
Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of New Jersey:
1. This House condemns the indication by the Federal Transit Administration that the federal government is not obligated to adhere to the split funding agreement reached between the United States Department of Transportation, the National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak), and the States of New Jersey and New York for the construction of the Hudson Tunnel Project, included in the Gateway Program.
2. Copies of this resolution, as filed with the Secretary of State, shall be transmitted by the Secretary of the Senate, to the Secretary of Transportation, the Administrator of the Federal Transit Administration, the Deputy Administrator of the Federal Transit Administration, the Executive Director of the Gateway Program Development Corporation, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak), the Chairman of the Board of Commissioners of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the Governor of the State of New Jersey, the Governor of State of New York, and every member of congress elected from the States of New Jersey and New York.
STATEMENT
This resolution condemns the indication by the Federal Transit Administration that the federal government is not obligated to adhere to the spilt funding agreement reached between the United States Department of Transportation, Amtrak, and the States of New Jersey and New York for the construction of the Hudson Tunnel Project, included in the Gateway Program, which is arguably the nation's most crucial infrastructure project.
