The Future of Gateway is in Congress' Hands

Leaders behind the Gateway Project are running out of options for funding the $30 billion project, which would add two tunnels under the Hudson River, replace the Portal North Bridge and expand capacity at Penn Station.

President Trump's budget slashed federal grant programs and Amtrak funding that would've gone to Gateway. Then, his infrastructure plan further eroded federal commitments to large infrastructure projects by only committing to 20 percent federal funding.

"There is no plan B for a project of national significance like Gateway," Gateway's Interim Executive Director John Porcari told WNYC. "It simply can't go forward without a federal funding partner."

Now, Congress will have do its best to try to restore those programs in its own version of the budget bill. The four senators from New York and New Jersey — all Democrats — put out a joint statement saying they will continue the fight.

"Both the president’s infrastructure plan and the just-released budget fail to acknowledge the critical need and the national impact of the Gateway Project, and short-change the millions of passengers who depend on it," said the senators, Charles Schumer, Robert Menendez, Kirsten Gillibrand and Cory Booker. "Despite these hurdles, we will continue to make the case for the federal government to right these wrongs and get serious about infrastructure and Gateway.” 

In a further blow to the project, this week the Department of Transportation downgraded the project's rating, making it more difficult to qualify for existing federal grants. The Department of Transportation wrote in a statement that The Hudson Tunnel and Portal North projects have not met the readiness requirements to be eligible for Capital Investment Grants. 

Porcari called this move by federal officials "puzzling," adding that the evaluation didn't take into consideration a $5.5 billion commitment from New York state in December. He expects the Environmental Impact Statement for the entire project will be ready in 24 months, which he says is twice as fast as project of this size takes.

The Gateway Development Corporation will meet in March to discuss the project's future and moving forward with phase one of construction.