Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY) and U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg missed another option to consider during their press conference and tour of the Amtrak Hudson River tunnel weeks ago as part of their advocacy for the full scope $33 billion or no fills $12.3 billion Gateway Tunnel project. Why not consider extending the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority New York City Transit #7 Flushing subway line beyond the Hudson Yards Station on the Manhattan midtown west side one block east of the Amtrak Moynihan Train Hall to New Jersey Transit's Secaucus Junction station by Exit 15X on the NJ Turnpike instead of the $12.3 billion Hudson River Tunnel (two new tunnels across the Hudson River connecting New Jersey to New York Penn Station plus rehabilitation of the two old 110 year old tunnels or $33 billion full build Gateway Tunnel (includes new platforms, tracks and other amenities at Penn Station).
Build a new bus terminal at the New Jersey Transit Secaucus Station. This could divert thousands of riders from both the Port Authority 42nd St Midtown Manhattan Bus Terminal and New York Penn Station. You could still spend $2 billion to reach a state of good repair for the two existing Hudson River tunnels.
Imagine providing a direct connection linking New Jersey, New York Penn Station, Grand Central Terminal, Hunters Point, Long Island City, Sunnyside, Woodside and Flushing Queens under a one seat ride for the $2.75 price of an NY MTA Metro Card or new One Metro New York (OMNY) Card. This could assist thousands of reverse commuters to colleges, entertainment, shopping, medical visits and jobs along with sporting events, such as New Jersey Giants and New Jersey Jets football teams at the Meadowlands, New York Mets games, others at Citi Field, US Open, Arthur Ash stadium, Flushing Meadow Park and Queens Zoo. Thousands of New Jersey residents would have easier access to Manhattan East Side. Metro-North Railroad commuters via Grand Central Terminal (along with Long Island Rail Road riders when East Side Access to Grand Central Terminal is complete in December 2022) would have a new option traveling to and from New Jersey.
This could make it easier for the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey to renovate the existing 42nd St. Bus Terminal in phases within the existing footprint. The current price tag for this project is $10 billion. There would be no need for using eminent domain to acquire any neighborhood residency, business or other adjacent property. Amtrak could shut down one Hudson River tunnel off peak, evenings and weekends at a time for critical repairs. Both could remain in transit service with necessary work accomplished at far less cost.
The existing Corona Queens Subway Yard is already operating at capacity. This facility adjacent to wetlands has little opportunity for expansion. A second storage yard might have to be built at a site in New Jersey close to any new bus terminal adjacent to the existing NJ Transit Secaucus Transfer Station. It would be difficult to dead head all the equipment from the current Corona Queens Storage Yard to Secaucus to provide service prior to rush hours. If NYC Transit wanted to maintain existing headway between trains during rush hour, additional subway cars would need to be purchased. At $2 million per car, 100 additional cars would equal ten train sets for $200 million. A new storage yard could cost several hundred million. These costs are in addition to a new tunnel under the Hudson River, track, signal, power and substations. A new intermodal bus terminal would need to be constructed at Secaucus. This would be needed to accommodate hundreds of rush hour buses. Diverting many of these buses from the existing overcrowded Manhattan Port Authority Bus Terminal could free up scarce space. This could provide new capacity for service from other Metropolitan area communities. It would eliminate the need to dead head hundreds of buses to mid-day temporary storage facilities on the New Jersey side of the Hudson River. A multi-story parking garage to accommodate several thousand cars would also be needed. This would free up valuable space in the already overcrowded Lincoln and Holland Tunnels during rush hours.
Extending the NYC Transit #7 subway line to Secaucus could cost billions less than the full build $33 billion Gateway Tunnel. Here is one potential funding package. Ask the NY MTA partner with the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, New Jersey Transit, the states of New York and New Jersey along with NYC to come up with a joint long term financial plan. Perhaps use some of the NY MTA Congestion Price Tolling revenue anticipated to start in January 2023 as another potential funding source.
Riders and taxpayers from both states would benefit. You could also enter this project into the Federal Transit Administration's New Starts or Core Capacity national competitive discretionary grant program. By providing a local share if successful it could result into a future Full Funding Grant Agreement with Washington. Sponsoring agencies local commitment could potentially leverage billions in financial assistance from Washington over the same time period.
The Federal Transit Administration share might be spread out over several five year federal transportation funding authorization acts to help defray significant project costs. Why wait decades for any new cross Hudson River transportation project that could benefit both New Jersey and New York commuters? Reaching a state of good repair should always be given a higher priority than system expansion. Repairs to the existing two Hudson River tunnels makes sense. Beyond that, If you are going to go forward and build something new such as two additional Hudson River tunnels, why not perform a cost benefit analysis? Perhaps extension of the NYC Transit #7 subway in the long run might make for a better investment than two new Hudson River Tunnels.
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Larry Penner is a transportation advocate, historian and writer who previously worked for the Federal Transit Administration Region 2 New York Office. This included the development, review, approval and oversight for billions in capital projects and programs for the MTA, NYC Transit, Long Island Rail Road, Metro North Rail Road MTA Bus, New Jersey Transit along with 30 other transit agencies in NY & NJ.
