Statement of Tom Wright, President and CEO of Regional Plan Association
The Gateway Program is the nation’s most urgent infrastructure project, critical to the economic health, reliability, and growth of the entire Northeast.
The two existing 115-year-old Hudson River rail tunnels were damaged during Superstorm Sandy and are deteriorating. If one fails before the new tunnels are built, cross-Hudson capacity would drop by 75%, stranding hundreds of thousands of commuters and costing the U.S. economy more than $16 billion over four years – the equivalent of 33,000 lost jobs annually.
A tunnel shutdown would cripple the economies of New Jersey and New York, and the impacts would reverberate nationwide. Thanks to bipartisan support and billions in federal and state dollars, the Hudson Tunnel Project is now under construction. Delaying or canceling the project will drive up costs and hurt regional businesses and the national economy.
Why the Hudson Tunnel Project Matters
The Hudson Tunnel Project is essential to the economic health, reliability, and future growth of the entire Northeast region. Without it, the region will face severe service cuts, economic stagnation, and reduced competitiveness. The Hudson Tunnel Project is one of 11 projects that constitute the Gateway Program, which will double transit capacity between New York Penn Station and Newark, NJ.
Preventing a catastrophic loss of capacity: The two existing 115-year-old rail tunnels under the Hudson River flooded during Superstorm Sandy and are deteriorating. If one tunnel has to be taken out of service for emergency repairs before Gateway is completed, trans-Hudson rail capacity would be cut by up to 75%, stranding hundreds of thousands of daily commuters and creating more congestion across the entire region, possibly for many months.
Shutdown would cripple the regional economy: A loss of one tunnel could cost the national economy $16 billion (in 2019 dollars) over four years. The wage costs alone are the equivalent to the loss of 33,000 jobs per year. The impacts would be greatest in New Jersey and New York, but they would reverberate throughout the Northeast and the U.S.
Supporting the region’s workforce: Over the last 25 years, the vast majority of new commuters into Manhattan have come from New Jersey. Of the one million daily commuters into New York City, almost half now come from across the Hudson River. Without modern, reliable tunnels, these workers can’t get to their jobs, undermining the city’s labor force and economic vitality.
Enabling job and housing growth: New York’s continued economic expansion depends on being able to bring more people into the region’s core. Gateway is the linchpin that connects housing and job growth across state lines by doubling capacity for NJTRANSIT and Amtrak. Building the full Gateway Program will generate close to $445 billion in economic benefits over the next 35 years.
Strengthening resilience and reliability: A modern tunnel system with added redundancy ensures that maintenance, emergencies, or extreme weather events won’t grind the entire regional rail system to a halt. Gateway future-proofs the network for the next century.
