N.J. Lawmaker Wants Feds To Supply Funds For New N.Y.-N.J. Amtrak Tunnel
TRENTON, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- The chairman of the New Jersey state Assembly Transportation Committee wants to know where the money will come from for a new rail tunnel between New Jersey and New York.
As WCBS 880's Levon Putney reported, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Chairman John Degnan said Thursday that the agency is onboard with a new Amtrak rail tunnel – known as the Gateway project.
State Assembly Transportation Committee Chairman John Wisniewski (D-Sayreville) said that's fine with him, but the money question remains.
"What we need now is a definitive plan on where the billions of dollars for this project will come from," he said.
Wisniewski said he wants to see enough federal dollars to fund the project, because it is not just an issue that affects New Jersey and New York.
"This is a northeast United States issue," he said. "The tunnel that goes under the Hudson River -- if you are leaving Washington, D.C. and you're going to Boston, that tunnel fails, you are going to get off a train in Newark. You are going to take a bus across the river. It's going to be very bad."
Amtrak has been pushing for the Gateway rail tunnel project, arguing the old tunnel will have to be shut down at some point for critical repairs.