This NJ-NY agency can now get federal money for Gateway rail tunnel. Why that matters
After quickly putting procedures in place and submitting thousands of documents over the past 10 months, the Gateway Development Commission can now officially receive checks from the Federal Transit Administration for the new rail tunnel project that will connect New Jersey and Manhattan under the Hudson River.
Kris Kolluri, who heads the commission, announced the significant step at Thursday's board meeting.
The federal agency completed its review of the Gateway package and determined that the commission meets federal requirements to receive funding, said a Nov. 15 letter from FTA acting Regional Administrator Michael Culotta.
The letter signifies that the FTA believes the Gateway Development Commission — a bistate agency formed two years ago to receive federal funds for the $16.1 billion Hudson tunnels project and to oversee the project — has the legal and technical experience to manage the complexities of the largest federally funded capital program in the country.
More: Feds add $4 billion to Gateway tunnel project, which will cut NJ's share of the cost
Two federal grants totaling $10.8 billion
It also lays the groundwork for the agency to reach a full funding grant agreement, expected in June, which is necessary in order to begin receiving the estimated $6.88 billion in funds expected through the Capital Investments Grant program.
The Gateway Development Commission was also awarded a separate grant of $3.9 billion, through the Federal Railroad Administration's Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail Grant Program, announced earlier this month.
More: There's more to Gateway than tunnels: NJ gets $675M from feds for rail work to cut delays
That grant and the Capital Investments Grant will bring the federal contribution to roughly $11 billion. That plus Amtrak's share will cover around 70% of the total project costs, leaving New Jersey and New York to split the rest, a significantly lower amount than previously expected.
"Our jobs as staff have always been to figure out a way to reduce the fiscal burden on the state of New York and New Jersey, and that is what this fed-state partnership announcement does," Kolluri said.
Will make NJ Transit and Amtrak service more reliable
The $18.4 billion first phase of the Gateway program is designed to make rail service more reliable for the hundreds of thousands who travel from New Jersey to Manhattan. It will include essential repairs on a key stretch of the Northeast Corridor and has three major components.
A new two-track rail tunnel will be built under the Hudson River between North Jersey and Manhattan, going into New York Penn Station.
Once the new tunnel is finished, the antiquated North River Tunnel beneath the Hudson will be shut down and repaired while train traffic shifts to the new tunnel. The old tunnel, which opened in 1910 and is used by Amtrak and NJ Transit, was severely damaged during Superstorm Sandy in 2012.
It has two tracks in and one out, with little flexibility if an incident occurs in the tunnel.
The Portal Bridge, the same age as the old tunnels and a critical chokepoint on the Northeast Corridor near Kearny, is also being rebuilt for an estimated $2.3 billion, a project being led by NJ Transit.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: NJ-NY group approved for federal aid for Gateway rail tunnel
