Readers Write: MTA pushes the cost of projects into the future

The Island Now

Remember creation of the Gateway Development Corporation only months ago, just how will they manage to finance the proposed $20 billion new Hudson River Tunnel?  

The tunnel would connect New Jersey with Penn Station.  

Amtrak recently announced that the estimated project cost has grown by $4 billion to a new price tag of $24 billion.  

Moody’s Investor Services has recently questioned the ability of New Jersey to come up with its share of the project cost.

 The original New Jersey Transit Access to the Region’s Core tunnel between New Jersey and New York began construction in 2009 at $8.7 billion, with a completion date of 2018. In 2010, 

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie canceled the project when the estimated cost grew to $11 billion.  

He did not want to risk being responsible for potentially billions in cost overruns above and beyond any Full Funding Grant Agreement with the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Transit Administration.

 Amtrak announced “the son” of ARC in 2011 known as the Gateway project. It would cost $14 billion and take 14 years to build.  In 2015, the estimated cost grew to $20 billion with a revenue service date of 2030 based upon initiation of both environmental work, along with preliminary design and engineering. Today at $24 billion, it is anyone’s guess how many billions the final cost will be.  Same for the actual revenue service date. 

U. S. Secretary of Transportation Anthony Fox, Senators Cory Booker and Charles Schumer ($10 billion – now $12 billion),  governors Andrew Cuomo of New York ($5 billion – now $6 billion) and Christie of New Jersey ($5 billion – now $6 billion) all fail to identify the specific source for their financial contributions to the project. There are no significant dollars programmed in the new Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act  for Gateway.

It is wishful thinking that the U.S. DOT FTA New Starts program and Amtrak between them can come up with $10 billion (now $12 billion) for Washington’s share of this project. 

There are dozens of other potential New Starts projects being championed by many of the other 98 Senators and 435 Congress members. The requests already far exceed any available current or future New Starts funding. 

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority, New Jersey Transit, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, New York City Department of Transportation and others from the Metropolitan New York Region all have their own respective projects competing against each other for billions in New Starts funding over coming years.  

Amtrak still needs billions to fully implement real High Speed Rail on the Northeast Corridor between Washington, New York City and Boston.  

This doesn’t include routine State of Good Repair, Safety, fleet equipment replacement and upgrades to the East River Tunnels.    

The New Jersey Transportation Trust Fund is insolvent.  Just like the MTA and Amtrak, NJ Transit needs billions more in coming years, just to reach a state of good repair.  

This does not include potential New Starts expansion projects for billions more.  

The PA of NY & NJ needs $10 billion for a new 42nd St. Manhattan Bus Terminal.

Washington, New York and New Jersey all lack courage to increase their respective gasoline tax.  

This is necessary to grow revenues available to support transportation.  

All three remind me of the cartoon character Wimpy who famously said “I’ll gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today.” 

When the bills become due, taxpayers will end up picking up the tab.

Larry Penner 

Great Neck

(Larry Penner is a transportation historian and advocate who previously worked in the transportation field for 31 years).

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