New York, New Jersey Officials Fight With Feds Over Gateway Project Funding
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – New York and New Jersey politicians are headed for a head-on collision with the federal government over the Gateway Project.
Local officials have repeatedly called the $30 billion proposal the most urgent infrastructure project in the country.
"The Gateway project is basically to build two additional tunnels into Penn Station from across the river," New York Rep. Gerald Nadler told WCBS 880's Mike Sugerman.
The current tunnels connecting New York and New Jersey are 100 years old. They were both damaged by Superstorm Sandy in 2012 and require regular maintenance.
The project also calls for rebuilding the portal bridge over the Hackensack River.
Lawmakers say they had an agreement with the Obama administration for the federal government to pay at least $5 billion of the estimated $30 billion price tag. But there's been new communication from Trump officials.
"We just got a letter from the deputy, oh whatever her title is -- the Deputy Federal Transit Administrator Jane Williams -- denying that there was ever an agreement with the federal government, which is just a straight out lie," said Nadler.
He and two dozen other representatives wrote a letter of their own to the transportation secretary to override her underling and pay up, Sugerman reported.
