U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) recently submitted public comment to the Federal Railway Administration and to New Jersey Transit on the construction of the trans-Hudson rail tunnel.
The hearing was the third and final one on the project’s Draft Environmental Impact Study.
The environmental study examines the impact of projects on both environmental and human health. The review is required under the National Environmental Policy Act.
“Our region simply cannot afford to take no action,” Booker said. “I see the Gateway Project, which includes the Hudson Tunnel Project and the replacement of the Portal Bridge in New Jersey as one of the most urgently needed infrastructure projects in the nation. This Hudson Tunnel Project will improve service reliability by reducing delays and enhancing existing outdated infrastructure.”
The Hudson tunnel, which would run from New Jersey to Penn Station, NY, is part of the Gateway Program, a project aimed at making rail infrastructure improvements that will increase capacity and improve service. The program was included in the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act in 2015.
In addition to the Hudson tunnel, the program would rehabilitate the North River Tunnel, which is more than 100 years old.
Booker is the ranking member of the Senate Subcommittee on Surface Transportation.