Gov. Mikie Sherrill speaks at a press conference last week at Newark Penn Station about the Gateway Tunnel project. Acting Attorney General Jennifer Davenport stands behind her.
Lawsuits are being filed and workers laid off as the Trump administration seeks to withhold money for the Gateway Tunnel project.
New Jersey and New York are suing the Trump Administration for withholding $15 billion in federally committed funding for the project that would create new tunnels and rehabilitate the existing Hudson River rail crossing between northern New Jersey and New York City.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court in the Southern District of New York, seeks emergency relief to stop the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) from continuing to implement its indefinite funding freeze—funds needed to ensure that active construction on the project can continue, that workers do not lose their jobs, and that the states and their residents are not harmed.
“Every time the Trump Administration gets involved, costs go up and working people suffer. The illegal attack on the Gateway Tunnel is yet another example. New Jersey will not back down from this fight,” said Gov. Mikie Sherrill. “If this project stops, 1,000 workers will immediately lose their jobs and hundreds of thousands of commuters will lose the chance at finally having reliable train service that makes their lives easier.”
The existing tunnel that carries NJ Transit and Amtrak service from New Jersey to New York is insufficient for the region’s needs, according to Sherrill. Built in 1910, it suffers from ongoing deterioration and flooded significantly during Superstorm Sandy in 2012. The tunnel’s 200,000 daily commuters face frequent service disruptions.
Without a new tunnel, Amtrak and NJ Transit would eventually have to consider cutting capacity by 75% at peak hours, imposing significant economic harms on the region to the tune of $100 million per day.
The Gateway project was launched in 2019 and federal agencies have since obligated roughly $15 billion in funding under federal laws designed to ensure the safety, reliability, and resiliency of core infrastructure. New Jersey and New York have invested more than $500 million into the Gateway project so far. In addition, New Jersey has acquired over 100 parcels of land needed for construction of the new tunnel.
However, on the eve of a government shutdown last Sept. 30, DOT announced it would indefinitely suspend payment of all funds for the Hudson Tunnel Project pending a newly-announced compliance review.
DOT’s announcement came without warning and without any clear explanation of why it was necessary to freeze federal funding and threaten the project’s completion. However, as the President later confirmed, DOT suspended the funding to punish New York officials for opposing unrelated Presidential demands.
The Trump administration has said they were pausing the money because of diversity, equity and inclusion concerns but it has also blamed Democratic leadership for not going along with proposed funding for the Department of Homeland Security funding.
Several news organizations including Politico, CNN and NJ.COM have reported that the Trump administration said they would release the money in exchange for Penn Station in New York City and Dulles International Airport in Washington being renamed for Trump.
Sen. Charles Schumer, Democratic minority leader in the Senate, reportedly said that he did not have the power to do that.
The Gateway Development Commission was forced to notify contractors that work had to stop on Feb . 6 and the GDC in turn filed its own lawsuit claiming the federal DOT was in breach of contract. The GDC also laid off about 1,000 workers as a result of the freeze.
The Trump administration requires press inquiries go through a form on a White House website. A request for a response to the lawsuit sent through that website received no response.
“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,” Sherrill said. “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. 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.”
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