Hello, I’m Brian Fritsch, Campaign Manager for the Build Gateway Now Coalition. Build Gateway Now is a coalition of over 45 civic, labor, business, and elected groups united by a single tenet — the Gateway Program is the nation’s most urgent infrastructure project.

The Gateway Coalition applauds Congress for passing the Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and President Biden for signing it yesterday. It is a historic and generational investment in the nation’s rail systems and sends a clear message — we should no longer tolerate century-old assets plagued with problems that cause numerous delays. Rather we should build a network for rail that will get commuters around faster, safer, and more reliably than ever before.

We know, however, the deal does not explicitly guarantee funding for the Gateway Program or the Hudson Tunnel Project. That’s why we call on the Federal Transit Administration to submit an improved project rating as quickly as possible. The improved financial plan submitted in August meets the benchmarks needed for a medium or better rating, and the update is crucial to getting the project done quickly and efficiently. Acting swiftly will help avoid catastrophe if the existing tunnel must be partially shut down for an extended period.

We also want to highlight how this project will help us reach our collective economic and climate goals. The construction of the Hudson Tunnel project alone has been projected to create 17,000 jobs and $19 billion in economic activity, while the Portal North Bridge project will create another 11,600 jobs. Avoiding a partial shutdown of the Hudson Tunnel project will result in two million fewer tons of harmful CO2 emissions, avoid a $16 billion dollar hit to the national economy, and spare Northern New Jersey a $22 billion reduction in property values. We must not delay.

We must also move an early works program for the Hudson Tunnel Project forward as quickly as possible. This could include important project elements such as completing the concrete casing or building a bridge over Tonnele Ave. We congratulate Amtrak on taking a huge step forward in this process with the acquisition of block 675 in Manhattan since the last meeting. It’s great to see work beginning there.

Finally, congratulations to NJ Transit and their board of directors for recently awarding a contract for construction for the Portal North Bridge. It’s great to see our advocacy for the Gateway Program take another step toward reality. This is a win for the economy and the environment.

Thank you to the members of the Gateway Development Commission for your continued service, and for the opportunity to submit our public comment to you today.