The Build Gateway Now Coalition issued the following statement in response to the Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) medium-high rating for the Portal North Bridge project, which allows for federal funding to allow construction to begin. The rating comes on the heels of a strengthened financial plan that was issued by NJTransit and Gateway Development Corporation in the early Fall of last year, which included providing 100% of the local share of the project’s funding.

“The Portal North Bridge is a crucial project for the health of our regional rail system and the first step in modernizing the 109-year-old infrastructure between New York City and Newark,” said Build Gateway Now Campaign Manager Brian Fritsch. ​“While building a new tunnel under the Hudson River is at least as important and crucial to the economic health of New York and New Jersey, we are pleased to see a key element of the Gateway Program finally moving forward. Portal North Bridge is ready to be built and we are pleased to see the FTA supporting the project’s merits.”

The Gateway Program is the nation’s most important infrastructure project, connecting over twenty percent of the nation’s economy. Build Gateway Now Coalition members have supported the Portal North Bridge and Hudson River Tunnel projects for years and advocated for the approval of the Environmental Impact Statement for the Hudson Tunnel, which is now nearly two years overdue. They also released a count-up clock on the buildgateway.org website to track the time since March 30th, 2018, when the FRA and US DOT initially stated they would issue a decision on the EIS.