Local Leaders Say Trump Must Commit to Hudson River Tunnel Project

By
Ilya Marritz
WNYC News | Mar 5, 2018

Elected officials from New York and New Jersey are responding to reports that President Trump is personally lobbying Congress to not fund the proposed Gateway Tunnel project, linking Manhattan with Northern New Jersey. 

Hundreds of thousands of commuters would benefit from two additional Hudson River Tunnels. The growing number of delays in and out of Penn Station is partly due to congestion and disrepair in the existing tunnel.

But according to the Washington Post, President Trump is actively trying to persuade top members of congress to abandon an earlier agreement to help with the expected $30 billion cost.

Over the weekend, Representative Peter King, a Long Island Republican, urged Trump to reconsider, tweeting "Trump must keep his commitment to Gateway which he made in White House last September. Essential to New York & Northeast."

Bill Pascrell, a North Jersey Democratic Representative, said in a statement: “this is a dispiriting setback, but none of us will be deterred. We will fight and finish the job. Together.”

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy both support the tunnel project.

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Ilya Marritz

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