Senators Say Highway Bill Keeps Gateway 'On the Rails'

The 1,301-page bill includes provisions to provide funds for at least half of the $20 billion Gateway Tunnel project, New York and New Jersey senators said Monday.  

"We scored a trifecta victory," said the Sen. Charles Schumer at a news conference, which was held just above the rail yards where the new tunnel would come into Manhattan's West Side.

He said the federal government had finally gotten the "tunnel vision" necessary to back the project.

As WNYC reported Friday, the legislation includes a provision allowing Amtrak to reinvest the profits from its Northeast Corridor operations back into Northeast, rather than using them to subsidize less-traveled lines elsewhere in the country. According to the New York Democrat, that could mean $200 million to $300 million a year — which, over the course of 30 years, would be enough to finance a loan worth $6 billion to $9 billion.

The senators also touted changes to two funding streams. The Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing (RRIF) program, which is a $35 billion low-interest loan program, was reworked to be more favorable to Gateway.

"We put in the RRIF bill reforms that make it easier for the Gateway Development Corporation to use it," said Schumer. "And we will be at the top of the list for those RRIFs."

The bill also tweaked a second federal funding stream, known as New Starts, by creating a new evaluation method much more favorable to Gateway.

This makes the federal commitment to the project tangible, Schumer said, meaning the new tunnel "has a green, green light."

The federal government has committed to pay for half of the project, leaving New York and New Jersey on the hook for the rest, probably via the Port Authority. So how will the two states come up with the money?

It's not yet clear, but Sen. Cory Booker, a New Jersey Democrat, says the RRIF program was restructured so states can borrow at favorable rates.

Both senators said time was of the essence. The existing tunnel is over 100 years old and was heavily damaged during Sandy; it remains plagued by power problems and could have as little as seven years left before needing to be closed for major repairs. The goal is to have Gateway in place before that.

"New Jersey commuters right now are facing hell," said Booker. "I mean, real hell."

He added, "When we get this project done, what it's going to mean for New Jersey commuters is to have hours of their lives — hours of certainty — return."