New Jersey Lawmakers Ask Trump To Make New Hudson River Rail Tunnels Priority
TRENTON, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- A bipartisan group of New Jersey lawmakers is calling on President-elect Donald Trump to make good on a promise to rebuild infrastructure and build the Gateway Tunnel project.
As WCBS 880's Kelly Waldron reported, it has been 108 years since the Hudson River rail tunnels to Penn Station were opened. They were severely damaged during Superstorm Sandy, and they are aging and need extensive repair, according to New Jersey State Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D-West Deptford).
"If one tunnel had to be shutdown to be renovated, you're talking about 75,000 people that would basically be displaced," Sweeney said.
It is all the more reason that Sweeney and a group of bipartisan legislators are calling on Trump to make the Gateway Tunnel project, which would build two new tunnels, a priority.
"He's a New Yorker," Sweeney said. "This is an important project for both states and we want to make sure that the progress continues forward."
The project is estimated to cost $23 billion, with New York and New Jersey covering about half.
