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Republicans argue proposal shows Christie was right to kill first tunnel plan

New Jersey's U.S. senators and Amtrak Monday proposed new life for the Hudson River commuter rail tunnel killed last year by Gov. Chris Christie.

Sen. Frank Lautenberg and Sen. Robert Menendez and Amtrak Executive Officer Joseph Boardman executives are tagging the new project as the "Gateway" tunnel. The tunnel would follow the same nine-mile route the defunct tunnel would have covered, beginning in North Bergen and running under Hudson county and the river to Manhattan. But instead of ending at West 34th Street, the tracks would end at what would be an expanded New York Penn Station.

According to the plan, the tunnel would allow 13 additional NJ Transit trains per hour, an increase to 33, and eight more Amtrak trains per hour. The plan for the defunct tunnel said it could handle 25 extra NJ Transit trains per hour.

Amtrak wants to see the tunnel completed in the next decade but one outstanding problem faces the project — financing.

It could cost as much as $10 billion in federal and state funds and Christie would have the final say on whether his administration would provide money. Amtrak is expected to ask the federal government to fund a $50 million engineering study on the Gateway plan.

Amtrak officials believe the tunnel would meet President Obama's vision for mass transit improvements in America and high-speed rail in the Northeast Corridor from Boston to Washington, D.C.

Amtrak intended to build another tunnel to handle the nation's most congested rail corridor, but not until 2040. The killing of the ARC tunnel expedited the Gateway tunnel plans.

"New Jersey is facing a transportation crisis," Lautenberg said. "Our commuters are fed up with train delays that make them late to work and endless traffic that traps them on our highways when they want to be home with their families. When the ARC tunnel was canceled, it was clear to me that we couldn't just throw up our hands and wait years to find another solution."

"New Jersey always rises above challenges, Menendez said. "While some choose to do nothing and accept delays, the people of New Jersey cannot, will not, and must not wait. We are moving full steam ahead with this strong investment in New Jersey and the region. We are on a path to create good-paying jobs and move people and goods more quickly."

Speaking to reporters at the Statehouse, Christie said he is "thrilled" over the tunnel proposal but added it will be awhile before he considers having the state pay for any construction.

"I've said all along that I think we need a second tunnel under the Hudson River," Christie said. The governor added, "I hope that all of you are taking note of all the dire predictions that were made and how wrong I was to have canceled this, and now today the taxpayers of New Jersey are protected and you have real talk about a federal lead on a project that should have been a federal project all along. Sometimes, to make real change happen, you have to stand up and be counted and make the tough decisions. If I had been intimated by all the rhetoric from all the folks who were shooting at us at the time, the taxpayers of New Jersey would be on the hook."

Details of the plan for the Gateway tunnel come a day before Vice President Biden and U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood will appear at Philadelphia's 30th Street Station to announce the Obama aministration's plan to attempt to build a nationwide 21st century infrastructure - from roads and bridges to high-speed rail. They will discuss new initiatives that will attempt to increase the nation's competitiveness, export goods to new markets around the world, and put Americans back to work while growing the economy.

Democratic legislators were quick to applaud the revival of a tunnel project and praise Lautenberg and Menendez. Republicans defended Christie's decision to halt the original tunnel and argued that a greated federal role works out better for taxpayers.

"This is the type of collaborative leadership that gets things done," Assembly Speaker Sheila Y. Oliver (D-Essex) said. "Granted, there is a long road ahead of us to see this project through to fruition but the fact that we have various stakeholders coming together to try and make this project a reality is a good sign. In terms of easing congestion, creating long-term construction jobs and the overall economic activity that will be generated, this plan represents a tremendous win for our state."

Assembly Transportation Committee Chairman John S. Wisniewski (D-Middlesex) said, "While this new plan will certainly help ease congestion and create jobs, New Jersey Transit will have much less cross-Hudson capacity and will flow into a space controlled exclusively by Amtrak. At least our U.S. senators are looking out for New Jersey residents, something you can't say for the governor."

"Thanks to Governor Christie, New Jersey will get increased trans-Hudson rail capacity without fleecing the taxpayers," Senate Republican Leader Tom Kean (R-Essex) said. "New Jersey residents finally have a governor who is willing to insist that taxpayer dollars are spent competently. This is a wholesale vindication of the governor's decision to end the ARC project (the original tunnel) a victory for the most highly taxed population in the United States."

"Lo and behold, good things happen when you stand up for the taxpayers," Sen. Michael J. Doherty (R-Warren) said. "The ARC Tunnel project, was a massively bad deal for New Jersey taxpayers being pushed by spendthrift Democratic politicians for all the wrong reasons: personal legacies, political agendas, and election year posturing. Nothing more perfectly exemplifies the folly of ARC than Senator Menendez's mind-boggling assertion that a dead-end route to Macy's basement made sense. I sincerely hope that our U.S. Senators will now convince the Obama Administration to drop their punitive and spiteful request that New Jersey taxpayers refund $271 million to the federal government for a project that was not what we bargained for and never made any sense. The Administration should instead allow New Jersey to apply those funds already spent to any state obligation for the new Gateway Tunnel project."

Assembly Majority Leader Joseph Cryan (D-Union) said, "Unfortunately, we still have to deal with a governor who puts ideology and YouTube moments over economic development, job creation and a better future for New Jersey, but I'm confident Assembly Democrats will stand ready to help where possible. We look forward to learning more details about the plan. This much we know — a new commuter rail tunnel is critical to New Jersey's economic future and this plan moves us back in the right direction."

Charles Wowkanech, president of the 1 million-member New Jersey AFL-CIO, said, "The new Gateway Tunnel project announced by Senators Lautenberg and Menendez today will provide many essential economic benefits to New Jersey, creating thousands of construction jobs, increasing property values, streamlining transportation, and expanding access to good paying jobs throughout the region. Following the cancellation of the ARC Tunnel, our state was left with no concrete solutions to increase commuter rail capacity, and the prospect of a tunnel being built in the near future appeared to be lost. Had it not been for the steadfast efforts of Senators Lautenberg and Menendez, it is highly doubtful that another project would have been proposed comparable to the Gateway Tunnel."

— TOM HESTER SR., NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM