Post by Logan on May 9, 2016 18:39:58 GMT -6
Permit process for new Hudson River rail tunnel could cost taxpayers $13B, report says
If the Gateway project to dig a new tunnel under the Hudson River proceeds like other big projects, the permitting process alone could take seven years and cost taxpayers $13 billion. That’s before the first shovel of dirt is even moved, according to a report released Monday by Common Good, a nonprofit group.
Instead, the group and leaders including Port Authority Executive Director Pat Foye and U.S. Senator Cory Booker hope to speed things along, creating a fast-tracked process that they say can complete the permitting in 18 months and save taxpayers billions.
“This is the most important infrastructure project in this region in decades,” Booker said. “I want to get it done.”
In addition to a new tunnel and overhauling the existing, century-old tunnel, Gateway will include two additional lines of track from Newark through the Meadowlands, an expanded Penn Station in Manhattan, and the Bergen Loop, which will give North Jersey train commuters one-seat rides to Manhattan.
On such a big project, small delays have big costs. If permits already were in place, construction could begin by late 2017 and would cost $24 billion, according to the report.
Read more: www.northjersey.com/news/permit-process-for-new-hudson-river-rail-tunnel-could-cost-taxpayers-13b-report-says-1.1568993
If the Gateway project to dig a new tunnel under the Hudson River proceeds like other big projects, the permitting process alone could take seven years and cost taxpayers $13 billion. That’s before the first shovel of dirt is even moved, according to a report released Monday by Common Good, a nonprofit group.
Instead, the group and leaders including Port Authority Executive Director Pat Foye and U.S. Senator Cory Booker hope to speed things along, creating a fast-tracked process that they say can complete the permitting in 18 months and save taxpayers billions.
“This is the most important infrastructure project in this region in decades,” Booker said. “I want to get it done.”
In addition to a new tunnel and overhauling the existing, century-old tunnel, Gateway will include two additional lines of track from Newark through the Meadowlands, an expanded Penn Station in Manhattan, and the Bergen Loop, which will give North Jersey train commuters one-seat rides to Manhattan.
On such a big project, small delays have big costs. If permits already were in place, construction could begin by late 2017 and would cost $24 billion, according to the report.
Read more: www.northjersey.com/news/permit-process-for-new-hudson-river-rail-tunnel-could-cost-taxpayers-13b-report-says-1.1568993