In pausing tolling plan, Hochul echoes Christie's policy mistake
Under Amtrak’s proposed Gateway Project, a new Hudson River tunnel will be built and the existing North River Tunnel under the Hudson River, shown here, will be repaired. Credit: Amtrak
In the fall of 2010, work was underway on an $8.7 billion project to add new tunnels under the Hudson River, additional tracks, and other infrastructure. Called Access to the Region’s Core, or ARC, the project was expected to be completed by 2018.
But on Oct. 27, 2010, then-New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie unilaterally canceled the project, citing the potential for cost overruns that could hurt his state’s taxpayers, and a lack of financial support from New York.
It was a shockingly bad move, one current New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy has called “the biggest policy mistake of the past 50 years in New Jersey.”
Fourteen years later, commuters are still paying the price for that mistake. Continued disinvestment has led to deteriorating service on New Jersey Transit and Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor. The already-aging tunnels underneath the Hudson River were compromised further in 2012 by Superstorm Sandy. Their condition has only worsened since.
New Yorkers would be wise to watch and learn from New Jersey’s example. But in the wake of Gov. Kathy Hochul’s own unilateral cancellation — the so-called “pause” in congestion pricing, also supposedly done with residents’ wallets in mind — we could be looking at our own, similarly dismal future.
Late last month, Amtrak suffered a string of infrastructure failures over a three-day period, first when signal issues disrupted multiple lines, and then when downed wires led to power losses that left passengers stranded and caused hours of cascading delays. Just a few days ago, Amtrak suspended service between New York and Boston during a busy holiday weekend due to new power issues, caused by a “malfunctioning circuit breaker.”
While not all of that is tied directly to ARC, a lack of funding and attention to public transit is certainly responsible for much of Amtrak and New Jersey Transit’s dreadful track record. When the money dries up, as it did after Christie made his call, there’s little anyone can do to properly maintain the system and complete necessary upgrades. It often takes years — if not decades — to recover.
So, it’s no surprise that nearly 14 years have passed since ARC’s cancellation before funding was secured for the next effort to build a new two-track tunnel and make additional infrastructure upgrades. Now called the Gateway Project and priced at $16 billion, it is scheduled for completion in 2038 — nearly 30 years after Christie made his fateful choice.
On Monday, federal, state and local officials — including Hochul — celebrated the latest federal grant.
“We have seen this through, and what this says is that New York and New Jersey — this region — still has the boldness, the audacity of visions, where others do not,” Hochul said.
But do we? Was Hochul being a bold visionary by taking a page from Christie’s playbook and “pausing” a plan that could have been game-changing for public transit on Long Island and in New York City and for quality of life throughout the region?
“Enjoy the magic of this moment because it may not happen again in your lifetime,” Hochul said.
If it doesn’t, our region is in trouble. Day after day, we are seeing our future through New Jersey’s present. Downed power lines. Broken signals. Massive delays. Decrepit, damaged tunnels that can’t handle the needed service. Extensive economic damage.
It could easily become New York’s “biggest policy mistake.” Thirty years from now, we may still be paying the price.
Columnist Randi F. Marshall's opinions are her own.
Randi Marshall is a member of the Newsday editorial board.
