NY/NJ Governors Sign Agreement To Split Cost Of Gateway Project 50/50

SECAUCUS, NJ — On Tuesday, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy and New York state Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a written agreement that guarantees a 50-50 split when it comes to funding the Gateway tunnel project.

This is a plan to build a new, third tunnel under Hudson River for Amtrak/NJ Transit trains, and replace the problematic Portal Bridge that connects Secaucus to Kearny.

The price tag for the entire Gateaway project is estimated to be about $14 billion.

Tuesday's agreement is significant because this marks the first time the states of New York and New Jersey agreed to equally split the price tag.

Building the third tunnel under the Hudson will allow for significantly more Amtrak and NJ Transit commuters to get into Penn Station. It is called Gateway because supporters say Penn Station New York and New York City are a "Gateway" to the entire economic engine of the United States.

The Portal Bridge in Secaucus is more than 110 years old, and either has problems with track interlockings or has to swing open to allow boats to get by underneath, both of which can greatly slow down NJ Transit commute times. The bridge carried about 200,000 riders per day before the pandemic, although ridership still has not climbed back to pre-pandemic levels.

Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Executive Director Rick Cotton also signed Tuesday's agreement, called a memorandum of understanding.

Tuesday's memorandum outlines sources, uses and timing of the Portal North Bridge and the Hudson Tunnel Project:

Phase One of the Gateway Program is funded by a combination of federal and local sources. On behalf of both states, the Port Authority's total commitment for Phase One is $2.7 billion.

To replace the Portal North Bridge, federal funding sources total approximately 60 percent of the total cost, leaving $772.4 million to be split by New Jersey and New York at a cost of $386.2 million per state.

When he was in office, then-Gov. Chris Christie refused to push Gateway forward, saying he did not feel comfortable leaving New Jersey taxpayers on the hook for those kinds of costs.

Similarly, President Donald Trump refused to advance a new tunnel under the Hudson, saying it was not needed and that other projects elsewhere in the U.S. needed the federal funding more.

For the rest of the Hudson Tunnel Project, New York and New Jersey will similarly split the local share 50-50. Both Hochul and Murphy said they would work to "aggressively" pursue more federal funding for Gateway through President Joe Biden's Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

Gov. Murphy called building the third Hudson River tunnel "the most significant transportation project not just in New Jersey, but in the entire United States."

“We appreciate the efforts of Governors Murphy and Hochul in moving this critical transportation project closer to the finish line,” said Port Authority Chairman Kevin O’Toole. “It is a project of enormous consequence for the many millions of riders who will benefit from it and it will be a significant driver of economic growth for the entire New Jersey-New York region.”