U.S. Senators Charles E. Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand announced today the Department of Transportation (DOT) is awarding the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey approximately $195.7 million in federal funding for infrastructure repairs in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy. An estimated $141.5 million in federal funds will go towards the Port Authority Trans-Hudson Corporation (PATH) Commuter Rail and an estimated $54.2 million will go towards the World Trade Center Transportation Hub. Damage from Superstorm Sandy has cost the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey $2 billion in repairs to return the agency’s airports, rail system, bridges and tunnels to service.
“These funds were rushed to the Port Authority and arrived here in near record time after the passage of the Sandy aid bill,” said Schumer. “This $200 million will help resume and accelerate progress on getting the PATH trains up and running at full steam, and will help to make sure other projects aren’t stalled while the cleanup from Sandy continues.”
“The devastation caused by Superstorm Sandy to our city’s mass transit and infrastructure is unprecedented,” said Gillibrand. “This critical funding is an important step to help New York recover and rebuild. I will continue to work with my colleagues and localities to ensure that New York has infrastructure in place to rebuild better and weather future natural disasters.”
Port Authority runs the PATH rail system, which suffered unprecedented damage from the millions of gallons of salt water officials estimated flooded the tunnels between New York and New Jersey. Port Authority faced a major task of removing the water and repairing the damage, estimating damage costs of up to hundreds of millions of dollars. In the storm’s aftermath, PATH trains had to operate on a limited basis.
The World Trade Center also sustained significant damage. $54 million in federal funding will go towards World Trade Center Transportation Hub, which is set to open in 2015. The 800,000-square-foot hub will be home to the PATH, connect to 13 subway lines via the Fulton Street Transit Center and other terminals, and link pedestrians to the World Financial Center (WFC) and its ferries through an underground concourse.
The federal funding is part of the Disaster Relief Appropriations Act of 2013, which provides relief to communities, families and businesses damaged by the storm and assists with the rebuilding of infrastructure, roads, and hospitals.