New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo held a press conference Nov. 28 following his meeting with President Donald Trump to discuss the pressing financial needs of the Gateway Project.
While the governor did not come away from the meeting with any guarantees of federal financial support for the project, he noted that the meeting was positive.
“It was all good. The president got it. He had a surprising amount of knowledge about the infrastructure projects that we're doing in New York,” said Gov. Cuomo. “It was a very productive conversation and we'll be following up for next steps.”
Gov. Cuomo said the two men discussed several high-profile infrastructure projects in New York including LaGuardia Airport, New York Penn Station, the progress on the Post Office train station, the Empire Station, as well as the Moynihan Train Hall before discussing the Gateway Project.
While the governor noted the scope of the $30 billion program, he said he focused his discussion with the president on the Hudson Tunnels, due to the long lead time needed between design, environmental reviews and construction. The tunnels are owned by Amtrak and carry both Amtrak and New Jersey Transit trains between New York and New Jersey.
“I'm focused on the tunnels, number one from a safety point of view. Number two, if we lose one of those tunnels, just lose use of the tunnel, it will have a devastating impact,” said Gov. Cuomo.
He also explained the tunnels are not in a repairable state citing their age and the lasting effects from flooding brought on by Hurricane Sandy.
“One of these tunnels goes down—it's not just the commute from New Jersey to New York City, it is all the train traffic to the northeast United States. And the northeast United States is 20 percent of the nation's GDP. So this is a national issue,” he said.
Gov. Cuomo suggested utilizing a similar method as the one used to construct the new Tappan Zee Bridge, which head heavy involvement from the private sector.
The governor suggested setting up a corporation with three representatives from New Jersey, New York and the federal government. This corporation would manage the entire process. Gov. Cuomo said the corporation’s involvement would not only streamline the process, but would give stakeholders a better understanding of actual cost. He noted that the cost estimates for the tunnels and for the entire Gateway Program have all come from Amtrak.
“Amtrak is in the train operation business, that is a different business than the tunnel-boring business,” said the governor.
As far as next steps are concerned, Gov. Cuomo said understanding the ultimate financial exposure is the priority. To gain this knowledge, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey will work with the U.S. Department of Transportation to get the bidding process started.
