Washington, D.C. — Rep. Donald M. Payne, Jr., Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials for the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, issued the following statement on July 6 regarding the Biden Administration’s plan to award an almost $7 billion federal grant to build the new Hudson River Tunnel between New Jersey and New York. It is the largest federal transportation grant ever awarded for a single project. The $16 billion Hudson River Tunnel project would repair an existing tunnel and build a new one for Amtrak and state commuter lines between New Jersey and New York. The current tunnel opened to travelers in 1910.
“I am extremely excited to learn about the Biden Administration’s $7 billion grant to build the new Hudson River Tunnel,” said Rep. Donald M. Payne, Jr. “The Hudson River Tunnel is the most important infrastructure project in the country. The current tunnel is 113 years old and needs to be replaced. Any type of delay or shut down could cost our economy $100 million in lost output and disrupt travel for 200,000 daily passengers.
I worked to secure money for it and the entire Gateway Program throughout my time in Congress. I fought to add $66 billion to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for projects like this one. Also, I helped secure more than $3 billion for the entire Gateway Program in past appropriations bills. In addition, I have been in constant communication with U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg about the Gateway Program. He even calls me “Mr. Gateway” for my commitment to this program. But we need to make sure that this project includes diversity in how it awards federal contracts. I met with Kris Kolluri, CEO of the Gateway Development Commission, on July 6 to discuss what we can do to create more opportunities for minority-owned businesses to contribute to this project. This is a great day for our district and New Jersey!”
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