New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill criticizes Trump over the possible suspension of the Hudson River rail tunnel project

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The Gateway Development Commission, the organization building the new Hudson River rail tunnels between New Jersey and New York, announced this week that the project will come to a complete halt on Feb. 6 unless they receive promised federal funding. Last fall, President Donald Trump terminated the project, saying his administration is getting rid of programs that they “didn’t like.”

“We’re terminating those programs, and they’re going to be terminated on a permanent basis. … It’s billions and billions of dollars that [New York U.S. Sen. Chuck] Schumer has worked 20 years to get. It’s terminated. Tell him it’s terminated,” Trump said.

The announcement was made Oct. 15 after Democrats, led by Schumer, rejected a stopgap spending bill to reopen the government during the shutdown.

New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill released a statement this week that sharply criticized Trump for terminating the project.

“The president’s refusal to fund the Gateway Tunnel project is not only an illegal attack on New Jersey but also shows a reckless disregard for our economy and the livelihoods of working families,” she said.

What is the Gateway Tunnel project?

The Hudson Tunnel Project, also known as the Gateway Tunnel Project, is a proposed 9-mile passenger rail track between New Jersey and New York City. It also includes a two-tube tunnel under the Hudson River. The project calls for rehabilitating the existing North River Tunnel that currently carries Amtrak and Northeast Corridor NJ Transit trains in and out of Manhattan.

Why is the Gateway Tunnel project needed?

The existing two-way rail tube tunnel under the Hudson River was constructed in 1910 when William Howard Taft was president. Because of its age, the tunnel, which was partially flooded during Hurricane Sandy in 2012, needs constant maintenance and repair.

Plans to build a new rail tunnel under the Hudson River have been discussed for decades, and they first took shape as the Access to the Region’s Core Project in 2004, but then-New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie canceled it in 2010, citing concerns about cost overruns.

How important is the project?

Sherrill said it’s imperative to move forward with plans to build a new rail tunnel, which is slated to be completed in 2035.

“New Jersey and New York make up the most powerful economic region in the world, and this is the most urgent and consequential infrastructure project in the country,” she said in her statement. “If the president does not restore funding to this project, which I helped secure while serving in Congress, he will single-handedly kill nearly 100,000 jobs and $20 billion in economic activity.”

During a meeting Tuesday at the Gateway Development Commission, North Jersey Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-Tenafly, pleaded with Trump to release federal funds.

“President Trump: I know you don’t want to derail our progress as a nation. This tunnel is 116 years old. If it collapses, America will blame you. If we fall behind and our economy here falters, American families and businesses of all sizes will blame you,” he said.

Gottheimer said the president has an opportunity to do something historic and finish what he said was one of the greatest infrastructure projects in American history.

“Please don’t blow it for some petty politics or because you’re pissed off at something. Don’t kill it, resurrect it. You’re a New York builder, you get it. Don’t blow a billion dollars and a 1,000 union jobs — and don’t stick it to 200,000 commuters and 20% of our nation’s [gross domestic product]. Don’t send us into a regional recession. Don’t stick it to Jersey and New York families, many of whom voted for you,” he said.

In a statement released by the Gateway Development Commission, CEO Thomas Prendergast said that about $12 billion of the new tunnel project’s $16 billion budget is funded by federal grants.

“We have done everything in our power to keep construction moving forward as planned, but we cannot fund this work on credit indefinitely,” he said. “Pausing construction is the absolute last resort, and we will continue working around the clock to secure funding so that the workers who are counting on this project to pay their bills can stay on the job and we can continue delivering the reliable, 21st century infrastructure America needs.”

Prendergast said “stopping construction will impact the carefully coordinated budget and schedule, and this will increase cost and force riders to rely on the outdated, unreliable North River tunnels longer than expected.”

Prendergast noted the rest of the money for the project, about $4 billion, will come from the U.S. Department of Transportation loans that will be repaid by New Jersey and New York and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

Robert Brunotte, a field representative with the Laborers’ International Union Local 79, said in a statement that the impending work stoppage would hurt blue-collar workers.

“President Trump needs to stop the war against unions and American working families, middle-class families in particular,” he said. “He needs to fund this project immediately without hesitation, and he needs to keep us in the tristate area working.”

Rutgers University economist James Hughes, dean emeritus of the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, said if the project is not completed it will cause a serious negative shockwave for the entire northeastern United States.

“The Northeast region’s economy is really dependent on the Northeast corridor, particularly linking Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York and Boston,” he said. “Once you stop a project it’s very difficult to start again.”

Sherrill promised that “New Jersey will fight tooth and nail for our hard-earned tax dollars and this essential project that will make commutes easier and improve quality of life for residents in the Garden State.”