Rep. Sherrill Applauds Hudson River Tunnel Approval as Major Victory for Northeast Region

Press Release

Washington, DC ---- Representative Mikie Sherrill (NJ-11) released the following statement on the Department of Transportation's "Record of Decision" approval of the Environmental Impact Statement for the Hudson River Tunnel today:

"The Gateway Tunnel Project is the nation's most critical infrastructure priority and the Hudson River Tunnel is the central piece," said Rep. Sherrill. "Years of inexplicable delay from the previous administration have made this project more expensive and increased the risk of a catastrophic failure of this crucial transit corridor. That's why today's announcement is so important - it will allow engineering work to begin immediately and get us closer to putting shovels in the ground for a project which is critical to my constituents and the nation. With this approval granted, I now look forward to working with the administration on the American Jobs Plan to ensure that projects of national and regional significance like Gateway get the funding they need."

Currently, century-old tunnels below the Hudson River transport roughly 200,000 commuters every day between New Jersey and New York. Despite the tunnels being the linchpin of the Northeast Rail Corridor, they're in serious risk of a devastating shutdown after being severely damaged during Superstorm Sandy. Such a shutdown could cost the US economy $16 billion over 4 years and reduce property values by $22 billion in New Jersey alone.

The Department of Transportation's announcement today marks the completion of the environmental review process for the Hudson River Tunnel. This will allow the project to move forward on property acquisition, engineering work, and other pre-construction work.

Rep. Sherrill has strongly advocated for this approval and expanded funding for Gateway since she entered Congress. In March, she led twelve Members of Congress in a letter to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg in support of the fast approval of Gateway. She also led a letter to House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Peter DeFazio urging the inclusion of dedicated funding for Gateway in the upcoming infrastructure package.

Source