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NY Times Reports Gateway Tunnels Project “Terminated”; Why We Need These Tunnels!
Reposting an email from Sam Turvey, Chairperson, ReThinkNYC
Dear Interested Press and Friends,
Yesterday’s news that federal funding for the Gateway Tunnels project has been terminated is very unfortunate (See attached NYT Coverage by Haag/McGeehan/Chen). The transportation (including serious safety issues) and economicadvantages to completing the tunnels are numerous.
We urge the bi-partisan supporters of this project to work to see this crucial link completed.
Our reasons for this follow:
1.) It has been a leap of faith for decades, to say the least, that we wholly depend on the dated and original 1910 tunnels that serve Penn Station, the Northeast Corridor and our commuter lines, especially in wake of damage to the tunnels after Superstorm Sandy. This is an accident waiting to happen and should be addressed with dispatch.
2.) Beyond safety concerns, the economy of the Northeast–one of the most important economic engines in the country–cannot compete with its international city peers abroad if we leave the epicenter of its rail transit system in a stasis from early in the last century.
3.)The ability to convert Penn Station’s operating model to the more beneficial through-running options, most especially that of ReThinkNYC, are made possible by the creation of the new Gateway Tunnels. This is about more than a “redundancy play”. Through-running is the modern standard and is recognized as such in our Federal Rail Administration Guidelines. Under ReThinkNYC’s through-running plan the narrow barely legal 1910 platforms at Penn Station can be widened which will do much to address and improve vertical circulation. These platforms were declared unsafe by the New York State legislature in 2018.
4.) There is bipartisan support for continuing the tunnels project from both NJ Gubernatorial candidates (Jack Ciatterelli and Mikie Sherrill), Governor Hochul and a bevy of local, state and federal elected officials. Commuters and Amtrak Passengers hail in substantial numbers from both political parties as do Independents and others.
5.) The Gateway Tunnels will provide a near term to intermediate term boost to local economies in terms of construction jobs and more.
Accordingly, we urge that the Gateway Tunnels–a bi-partisan win-win– survive today’s budget impasse and continue to be funded.
Sam Turvey
Chairperson, ReThinkNYC
Coordinator, Empire Station Coalition
Coordinator, Penn Community Defense Fund
New York Times: Trump Says $16 Billion Hudson River Tunnel Project Is ‘Terminated’
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