The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has set Feb. 23 as the date for a hearing on the Trump administration’s appeal of a court order requiring it to resume funding the $16 billion Gateway Tunnel project connecting New York and New Jersey. At the same time, the appeals court refused the administration’s request to extend the pause that U.S. District Judge Jeannette Vargas had put on her Feb. 9 order requiring the administration to resume funding of the project.
The Trump administration did make a partial payment of $30 million on Feb. 13, but it’s only a portion of the $200 million immediately owed by the administration. A conference has been ordered to take place in federal court on Feb. 17 regarding the status of payments.
Judge Vargas had ruled that the administration must release funds it has been withholding but allowed a few days before her ruling went into effect in order to allow the administration time to file its appeal. Even though the time period for the pause has now expired, as of the morning of Feb. 13 the Trump administration had not moved to release the funding it was withholding.
Construction of the project was halted at 5 p.m. on Feb. 6 when money on hand for the construction project ran out. Pausing construction resulted in the immediate loss of nearly 1,000 jobs. According to management of the project, an extended pause would put at risk approximately 11,000 construction jobs as well as the 95,000 jobs and $19.6 billion in economic activity that construction is anticipated to generate overall.
The Gateway Tunnel project is designed to create new facilities in New Jersey and New York including new tubes to carry trains on the Northeast Corridor and commuter trains as they cross under the Hudson River between the two states. The existing tubes have deteriorated due to age and suffered damage from Superstorm Sandy. The Northeast Corridor is the most heavily used passenger rail line in the country hosting more than 2,200 train movements and 800,000 passenger trips daily.
After the pause Judge Vargas had put into effect for her order expired, New York Attorney General Letitia James who along with New Jersey Acting Attorney General Jennifer Davenport had filed suit against the Trump administration said, “The court’s order is now in effect, and the federal government must immediately release funding for the Hudson Tunnel Project. This administration never had the authority to freeze this funding, and it no longer has any excuse to delay. We expect full compliance with the court’s order and the prompt delivery of the funds needed to keep workers on the job and this critical project moving forward.”
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said late on Feb. 13, “The federal government owes the Gateway Development Commission more than $200 million. My message to the Trump Administration is simple: Enough with the chaos and delays. Get people back to work. Today we made progress. $30 million has finally been released, and a court-ordered report will force transparency on the remaining funds. But the job isn’t done. Full funding must be restored now. Here’s what’s at stake: 1,000 union workers laid off and 200,000 commuters who depend on a safe, reliable tunnel under the Hudson every single day. The Gateway Tunnel cannot wait. Our regional economy depends on it. Every time Donald Trump has tried to derail this project, I’ve fought back, and I will again. We will not accept threats or phony deals when the law is clear. We’re ready to build. Let us get to work.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York chimed in, “President Trump is playing games with this critical infrastructure project that will bring thousands of jobs and much needed resiliency to the northeast economy. Every day we don’t build Gateway we are tempting an economic crisis. The stakes could not be higher.”
New Jersey Gov, Mikie Sherrill said, “The 1,000 workers currently out of work because of President Trump’s illegal action can’t wait any longer. The president must end this reckless fight and keep legally obligated funds flowing to ensure the nation’s most urgent infrastructure project is never stopped again. If they don’t, we’ll continue to see them in court, and continue to win.”
