Labor and infrastructure leaders are welcoming the federal government’s decision Friday to drop its appeal in the Gateway tunnel funding fight, saying the priority now is to keep building.
Greg Lalevee, business manager of Local 825 of the International Union of Operating Engineers, said the impact is huge.
“It’s good news that the appeal has been dropped – great news considering that the workforce is about to grow again to bore the Palisades portion of the tunnel,” he said.
Jerry Keenan, president of Alliance for Action, was equally enthused.
In a statement Friday, Keenan said that the project matters to the state’s economy, its workers and its rail system.
“This is a major step forward for a project that’s critical to New Jersey’s economy and our entire transportation system,” he said. “The Hudson Tunnel project means 1000s of jobs, billions of dollars in construction, and a more reliable rail system. Now we need to keep building,” he said.
The federal government dropped its appeal of a ruling that found its freeze on Gateway funding violated federal law.
In a mandate from the U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals, Clerk Catherine O’Hagan Wolfe said New Jersey, New York and the federal government agreed to dismiss the appeal. The appeal sought to again block federal funding for Gateway and other infrastructure projects in the region.
Gov. Mikie Sherrill obviously was thrilled by the news, saying in a statement that the outcome is a win for commuters and for the workers who will build the tunnel.
“This is a big victory for millions of New Jersey commuters and for the nearly 100,000 jobs the Gateway Tunnel Project will create,” she said. “The Trump Administration has tried, over and over again, to illegally stop the funding for the nation’s most urgent infrastructure project.
“We took them to court and we won for New Jerseyans, five times. I won’t stop fighting until this project is built,” she said.
The fight is not over. NJ.com reported that the administration’s larger lawsuit challenging the project is still moving forward, and a U.S. Department of Transportation spokesperson said its challenge to contracting practices continues.
“USDOT’s appeal against the possible use of taxpayer dollars for unconstitutional, discriminatory contracting practices continues,” the spokesperson said.
The impact of the project is enormous. Last summer, Amtrak Chair Tony Coscia detailed the impact it will have on train travel throughout New Jersey and across the region.
Lalevee knows it means getting more people on the job.
“The Operating Engineers, other craft workers and supervision on the project remain focused on delivering this important project ahead of time and under budget,” he said.
