In an editorial, U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-11), a Democratic candidate for governor, explains why the Gateway Tunnel is key to New Jersey’s future and why she’s the candidate to get it over the goal line.
If you ask any New Jerseyan, they’ll tell you that transit isn’t just an economic issue, it’s a key quality of life issue for working families across the Garden State.
Everywhere I go, I hear about the impact that New Jersey’s transit infrastructure — and its barrage of delays and breakdowns in recent years — has on everyday lives.
I’ve heard from New Jerseyans commuting home who have been stuck on a train for three hours without power or cell service in the middle of the summer.
I hear from parents who can’t count on the train to make it back on time to pick their child up from daycare or take them to a doctor’s appointment.
And all too often I talk to New Jerseyans who don’t know if the bus is going to show up in order to make it to work on time.
Which is why, when I first ran for Congress back in 2018, I made a promise to New Jerseyans that I’d get the Hudson River Tunnel built.
The Tunnel is a key piece of the broader Gateway Program, which will renovate and expand the Northeast Corridor rail line between Newark and New York City.
I thought it was obvious: this was the nation’s most important infrastructure project, and it would improve the everyday lives of so many New Jerseyans. Yet almost immediately, people told me it couldn’t get done.
So when I first got to Congress with people telling me that the Hudson River Tunnel was a lost cause, I rolled up my sleeves and got to work. I built broad coalitions and took every opportunity I had to focus on making the impossible happen for New Jersey.
This advocacy earned me the title of “Tunnel-Obsessed Congresswoman” from a member of the press, and it’s a badge I continue to wear with honor.
As negotiations on the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law were underway, I was on the front lines advocating for funding for the Hudson River Tunnel. In the end, I helped secure $60 billion in federal funds for rail projects like the Tunnel.
I worked to secure a Full-Funding Grant Agreement to ensure that Washington is footing their fair share of the bill, and fought for a $3.8 billion federal grant that reduced the state’s cost of the project, lowering the burden for New Jersey taxpayers and freeing up funds for other transit priorities.
Now, shovels are in the ground and the first piece of the project, the Tonnelle Ave overpass, is set to be completed by this October.
And this project is well worth the investment. According to a recent study released by the Regional Plan Association, the full Gateway Program — which includes the Hudson River Tunnel as well as wider regional upgrades — will generate close to $443 billion in economic benefits for our region over the next 35 years.
Every dollar we put into Gateway will result in nearly four dollars of benefits for New Jersey residents in travel cost savings, improved safety, and reduced highway congestion.
The Hudson River Tunnel specifically will double NJ TRANSIT and Amtrak’s capacity to run passenger trains out of New York.
When the Tunnel is finished, New Jerseyans will be able to get to and from work reliably and on time.
The new Tunnel will help us get commuters out of their cars — so we’ll spend less time sitting in traffic while reducing air pollution in our state. And, it will help to ensure that we’re not living through “summers of hell” year after year.
Right now, it’s more important than ever that we have a governor who is up to the challenge of continuing our progress on the Gateway Program.
We know what a Republican in Trenton means for this essential project. Governor Chris Christie canceled the ARC Tunnel project, which set our progress back decades.
Donald Trump spent his entire first administration punishing states like New Jersey, now he’s working every day to pull back federal funding from some of our most important programs.
We know that Jack Ciattarelli won’t fight for this project, in fact, he voted against the funding used to replace the Portal Bridge, a critical chokepoint on the Northeast Corridor and key component of the overall Gateway Program.
Not on my watch. As governor, I would use all of New Jersey’s leverage to ensure that we are getting every cent needed to complete the Hudson River Tunnel.
Because this project will make all the difference in boosting our economy for the future while ensuring working families can make it to work and home again on time.
We have come too far and worked too hard. I won’t let our progress slip.
Mikie Sherrill is a candidate for governor and currently represents New Jersey’s 11th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives. She is a former U.S. Navy helicopter pilot, federal prosecutor, and is a mother of four kids.
It’s only estimated at $60,000,000,000.00+ and you know that it will end up costing much more and be finished a decade late.
Imagine the amount of corruption costs ?
That is a great picture!
I don’t like the idea that a member of congress tries to take credit for funding that was obviously a result of the collective efforts of all of the New Jersey delegation. That’s distasteful.