Coronavirus Stimulus May Yield Funds For Gateway Program: Reports

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — A multi-trillion-dollar infrastructure package that is being negotiated as part of Congress' fourth new coronavirus stimulus may result in federal funding of the critical Gateway Program, according to reports.

President Donald Trump recently told the New York Post that he now supports the "very important" project to restore the rail corridor between Manhattan and New Jersey that runs underneath the Hudson River. Trump's administration proposed a $2 trillion infrastructure bill in April, and the president told the Post that he'd like to see the Gateway Program be one of the first projects to be funded.

The public show of support for the long-planned project — considered to be one of the regions most critical infrastructure fixes — is a significant reversal for Trump. The president's administration actively worked to kill a deal struck by President Barack Obama in which the federal government agreed to split the cost of rebuilding the tunnels with the states of New York and New Jersey.

In a letter sent to New York Gov. Andrew Como and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Trump's Federal Transit Administration said it would back out of a plan to split the costs of the $13 billion project 50/50 between the states and federal government. In March 2018, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao revealed that Trump is actively trying to block federal funding for the project.

The current Hudson River tunnels were already in need of repair when they were badly damaged by superstorm Sandy. The tunnels, which opened more than 100 years ago, currently service all Amtrak and NJ Transit passenger trains between New Jersey and Penn Station. Building a new tunnel and replacing the existing tunnels is expected to cost $12.9 billion, according to an environmental impact statement published in 2017.

In addition to building two new tunnels under the Hudson River, the Gateway project also calls for the repair of the existing Hudson River tunnels and the modernization of the often-troubled Portal Bridge in New Jersey. The construction of a new train hall in the former James A. Farley post office building across the street from Penn Station will allow Amtrak and NJ Transit to run increased train service through the new tunnels.

Despite Trump's reversal on the project, federal funding is far from guaranteed. The federal government is currently directing is energy toward short-term relief bills, which means the $2 trillion infrastructure package may not be passed in the next coronavirus stimulus, according to a City & State report from April. The possibility of an economic recession may provide incentives for Democrats and Republicans to make a compromise on infrastructure, which would create jobs and give the economy a shot in the arm, according to the report.