Work on the economically vital Gateway rail tunnel should be allowed to continue after a federal judge blocked President Donald Trump from freezing funding for the construction project.
Judge Jeannette Vargas late Friday granted a temporary restraining order in response to a lawsuit filed by the attorneys general of New Jersey and New York that claimed Trump is unlawfully withholding funds for the tunnel that were previously authorized by Congress.
Without the restraining order, work on the new tunnel linking New Jersey and Manhattan would have stopped at the end of the day Friday due to a lack of funds, according to the Gateway Development Commission, a bistate agency that is overseeing construction of the $16 billion tunnel.
“As the court correctly recognized, the Trump Administration’s attempts to freeze funding for the Gateway Tunnel project are plainly illegal, and they would cause grave harm to New Jersey and New York,” said Jennifer Davenport, New Jersey’s acting attorney general.
“We are grateful that the court agreed to put a halt to this unlawful freeze on this emergency basis,” Davenport said in a statement issued Friday evening after the ruling was issued by the judge.
The Gateway Development Commission has also filed a lawsuit against the administration, alleging the administration is violating contractual funding agreements by withholding funding for the project since the beginning of October. That suit remains pending in federal court in Washington, D.C.
The lawsuit by the states is set to continue while the temporary restraining order is in place.
“I am thrilled that the court has granted temporary relief, lifting the freeze of billions of dollars of federal funding for Gateway. President Trump’s arbitrary and politically motivated decision to freeze this funding is plainly illegal, and we will continue to pursue full relief so the nation’s most urgent transportation project can keep moving forward — and workers can keep putting food on the table,” Gov. Mikie Sherrill said in a statement.
A pause in construction would result in the loss of nearly 1,000 jobs in the near-term, and also force the GDC to cover $15 million to $20 million in estimated suspension costs, agency officials have said.
Proponents of the project have argued time is of the essence since an existing tunnel that serves the broader Northeast Corridor rail system between Washington, D.C. and Boston is 116 years old. While federal officials say it is still safe to use, the tunnel was heavily damaged in 2012 by Superstorm Sandy and is prone to regular breakdowns that can gnarl rail traffic.
Amtrak and New Jersey Transit trains currently account for some 200,000 daily trips that use the existing trans-Hudson tunnel to travel between New York’s Penn Station and stations in New Jersey
But the broader rail system traverses several major metropolitan areas, carrying 800,000 daily passenger trips across a 457-mile corridor that supports an estimated 20% of the nation’s gross domestic product.
The lawsuit filed by the states faulted the Trump administration’s explanation for withholding funding for the project, something the president has previously suggested was to punish uncooperative Democratic leaders in the region, especially Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York).
“The Trump Administration must drop this campaign of political retribution immediately and must allow work on this vital infrastructure project to continue. If not, I pledge to keep fighting in court on behalf of all New Jerseyans,” Davenport said.
Earlier Friday, Sherrill and other elected officials held a news conference in Weehawken to draw attention to the potential for a halt in construction.
Officials from the state’s leading business groups are also speaking out in favor of the project and its economic importance to the region.
“New Jersey’s competitiveness is reliant upon a modern, accommodating, and safe transportation system,” said Michele Siekerka, president and chief executive officer of the New Jersey Business & Industry Association. “The delivery of the Hudson Tunnel Project is a crucial part of that mix, not only for New Jersey, but the region.”
“Gateway is essential to our region’s economy and to the millions of commuters who depend on reliable rail service every day,” said Tom Bracken, president and chief executive officer of the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce.
