The U.S. House Transportation-Housing and Urban Development Appropriations (T-HUD) Subcommittee recently considered advancing the Fiscal Year 2018 T-HUD Appropriations bill.
The bill provides more than $56.5 billion in funding to government departments and agencies.
The Department of Transportation will receive $17.8 billion, the Department of Housing and Urban Development will receive $38.3 billion, and Community Planning and Development programs will receive $6.6 billion.
“Now more than ever, it is imperative to our economy and to our quality of life to have safe and well-functioning transportation infrastructure. This bill makes investments in essential highway, air, rail, and maritime programs that will keep our people and our goods moving efficiently,” Committee Chairman Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-NJ) said. “I am especially pleased that more than $900 million will be allocated to the Gateway program in the New Jersey-New York area in this legislation.”
The program addresses safe commuter rail travel in the Northeast Corridor region, an area of 50 million people.
Part of the Gateway program includes rebuilding the Hudson Tunnels. The tunnels are used daily by drivers commuting to and from New York and New Jersey. The number of New Jersey commuters increased by more than 35 percent between 2002 and 2014. The tunnels also serve Amtrak and New Jersey Transit.