Chris0nllyn
Well-Known Member
The president officially scrapped his predecessor's proposal to have the federal government underwrite half the cost of a multibillion-dollar Amtrak tunnel connecting New Jersey to Penn Station, the busiest transit hub in the U.S.
"Your letter also references a nonexistent '50-50' agreement between USDOT, New York and New Jersey. There is no such agreement," wrote FTA Deputy Administrator K. Jane Williams. "We consider it unhelpful to reference a nonexistent 'agreement' rather than directly address the responsibility for funding a local project where nine out of 10 passengers are local transit riders."
http://www.crainsnewyork.com/articl...rump-administration-kills-gateway-tunnel-dealThe official also highlighted such multibillion-dollar projects now underway as the Honolulu Light Rail and the Maryland Purple Line, for which federal loans made up only a small proportion of the capital investment.
Those projects, however, do not serve regions as integral to the U.S. economy as the Hudson River tunnel. Nor do they serve more than one state. And the $9.5 billion Honolulu undertaking, which as of August had received $800 million of a $1.5 billion federal funding package, has run into serious problemsm including a nearly $3 billion deficit. Experts question the benefit it would have for Honolulu, let alone the nation, should Hawaii manage to finish it.
Maryland's $2.4 billion Purple Line, for which a $900 million federal grant was approved, is a state project and much smaller than Gateway, which could end up costing 10 times as much. The Maryland project also received an $875 million federal loanm.
Great move.