President Biden pledged Tuesday to press full steam ahead on New York City’s Hudson River rail tunnel project, starting with a $292 million cash infusion that aims to get the infrastructure initiative back on track after years of construction delays.
Joined by Mayor Adams, Gov. Hochul and a cadre of other local elected officials, Biden announced the multimillion-dollar federal investment during a news conference at the base of one of the project’s tunnels, underneath Manhattan’s Hudson Yards.
“All told, this is one of the biggest, most consequential projects in the country,” Biden said. “It’s going to take time. It’s a multibillion-dollar effort between the states and the federal government, but we finally have the money and we’re gonna get it done. I promise you: We’re going to get it done.”
The $292 million pledge is a drop in the bucket in the projected $30 billion cost of the Gateway Program, which will refurbish rail lines between Newark and Manhattan’s Penn Station.
The down payment, sourced from a $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill signed by Biden in late 2021, is expected to cover half the tab for constructing the concrete casing for the project’s two new Manhattan tunnels.
