Do you remember way back in 2009-2010 when President Obama proposed funding an $8 billion rail tunnel project under the Hudson River that NJ Governor Chris Christie turned down? Well, it is back now that Christie has had a change of heart after hearing his constituents complain about transit delays and disruption and after Hurricane Sandy flooded the tunnel in 2012.
However, Christie’s dalliance wasn’t without cost as some press reports are now putting the project cost at $20 billion rather than $8 billion as a result of the delays….and Christie’s delay means that relief to tunnel-caused rail traffic bottlenecks and congestion will be put off well into the future.
Today’s Federal Register brings news of the restart of the approval process on this ‘yuge’ infrastructure project plan for the New York and New Jersey area and for the Northeastern transportation corridor of the United States. Here’s today’s Federal Register notice:
www.gpo.gov/...
The proposed Hudson River Tunnel project would be a multi-billion dollar enterprise that would construct a new, 2 tube transit rail tunnel under the Hudson River between New York City and New Jersey. The new tunnel would incorporate modern ventilation features to increase safety and to address problems from any tunnel accidents.
The project would also include a complete rehabilitation of the existing rail tunnel used by both AMTRAK and NJ Transit. Here is the project area map showing the location of the existing project and the area under consideration for the new tunnel:
www.hudsontunnelproject.com/…
Here is AMTRAK’s web site on the project:
nec.amtrak.com/…
The existing Hudson River tunnel was inundated for 5 days and was damaged during Hurricane Sandy in 2012, and presently remains in poor condition although it is safe presently to use. The inundation with seawater caused damage to concrete, track rail systems, electrical and signaling systems that requires extended time for repairs. However, there is no way to conduct such repairs while maintaining heavy continuous daily use of the tunnel by AMTRAK and NJ Transit.
There is no backup for the current rail tunnel and the only way to rehabilitate it while maintaining continuous rail service for AMTRAK and NJ Transit would be to construct a new, redundant tunnel designed with modern backup emergency ventilation and other features.
Aside from maintaining continuous operation of heavily used transit rail systems in the NY/NJ area, the project would mean thousands of new construction jobs for the region’s residents to complete the needed work.
Presumably the proposed new tunnels would be constructed in a manner to harden them against a flood/inundation recurrence, although someone should be raising this in the scoping process.
The announcement today in the Federal Register provides a notice by the Federal Railroad Administration of the U.S. Department of Transportation of plans to prepare an environmental impact statement under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the announcement of two public meetings on scoping for the EIS process:
Through this Notice, FRA announces its intent to jointly prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) with the New Jersey Transit Corporation (NJ TRANSIT) for the Hudson Tunnel Project (the Proposed Action or the Project) under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
The Proposed Action is intended to preserve the current functionality of the Northeast Corridor's (NEC) Hudson River rail crossing between New Jersey and New York and strengthen the resilience of the NEC.
The Project would consist of construction of a new rail tunnel beneath the Hudson River, including railroad infrastructure in New Jersey and New York connecting the new rail tunnel to the existing NEC, and rehabilitation of the existing NEC tunnel beneath the Hudson River, referred to as the North River Tunnel. The EIS will evaluate the potential environmental impacts of a reasonable range of alternatives, including the No Action (No Build) Alternative. As appropriate, FRA and NJ TRANSIT will coordinate with the National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak), as owner of the North River Tunnel, and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) on the EIS.
FRA invites the public and all interested parties to provide comments on the scope of the EIS, including the proposed purpose and need, the Proposed Action and alternatives to be considered in the EIS, potential environmental impacts of concern and methodologies to be used in the EIS, the approach for public and agency involvement, and any other particular concerns about the potential impacts of the Proposed Action.
During this part of the process, comments are sought on the “scoping” of issues that should be raised during the process of preparing a draft environmental impact statement. The project’s sponsors have prepared this scoping document for discussion and comment:
www.hudsontunnelproject.com/…
Here is the web site for the whole project:
www.hudsontunnelproject.com
Here is recent news coverage of the Hudson River Tunnel Project, including some of the issues of politics, financing and Christie’s turnaround on the matter:
www.google.com/...
Here is info on the public participation process:
DATES: Persons interested in providing written comments on the scope of the EIS must do so by May 31, 2016. Please submit written comments via the internet, email, or mail, using the contact information provided below.
Persons may also provide comments orally or in writing at the public scoping meetings. FRA and NJ TRANSIT will hold two scoping meetings on the following dates: May 17, 2016, at the Hotel Pennsylvania, Gold Ballroom, 3rd Floor, 401 Seventh Avenue at West 33rd Street, New York, New York 10001. May 19, 2016, at Union City High School, 2500 Kennedy Boulevard, Union City, New Jersey 07087.
Both days will include an afternoon session from 3 to 5 p.m. with a brief presentation about the Proposed Action at 4 p.m., and an evening session from 6 to 8 p.m. with a brief presentation about the Proposed Action at 7 p.m.
The public can review Project information, talk informally with members of the study staff, and formally submit comments to the FRA (to a stenographer or in writing). The meeting facilities will be accessible to persons with disabilities. Spanish language translators will be present. If you need special translation or signing services or other special accommodations, please contact the Project team five days prior to the meeting at 973-261-8115, or email hudsontunnelproject.com. FRA and NJ TRANSIT will give equal consideration to oral and written comments.
ADDRESSES: The public and other interested parties are encouraged to comment via the internet at the Project's Web site (www.hudsontunnelproject.com) or via email at hudsontunnelproject.com. You can also send written comments by mail to persons identified below.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Amishi Castelli, Ph.D., Environmental Protection Specialist, Office of Railroad Policy and Development, USDOT Federal Railroad Administration, One Bowling Green, Suite 429, New York, NY 10004, or Amishi.Castelli; or Mr. RJ Palladino, AICP, PP, Senior Program Manager, NJ TRANSIT Capital Planning, One Penn Plaza East--8th Floor, Newark, NJ 07105, or njtransit.com
Progressive Democrats interested in energy conservation, transportation, regional development and jobs need to be out front and supporting this major infrastructure project of tremendous importance to the New York and New Jersey area and passenger rail transportation in the Northeastern Corridor.