At today’s Senate Appropriations Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Subcommittee hearing on the Department of Transportation’s budget, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand secured an on-the-record commitment from Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy that he would not cancel grants for major transit capital investment projects. Gillibrand, ranking member of the subcommittee, explained that this would include two major projects in New York: Phase Two of the Second Avenue Subway Extension project and the Hudson Tunnel Gateway project.
These projects have signed Full-Funding Grant Agreements (FFGAs) with the Federal Transit Administration, which will provide more than $10 billion in federal funding for these major New York infrastructure projects. The commitment Gillibrand secured means these projects should continue despite the Trump administration’s attempts to withhold funding to major projects in New York.
- The new Hudson Tunnel Gateway project will construct a new tunnel under the Hudson River to improve Amtrak rail service along the Northeast Corridor between Newark, New Jersey, and New York City. When completed, the project will double capacity and permit more high-speed rail service in and out of the city.
- The Second Avenue Subway extension will construct a 1.76-mile subway extension along Second Avenue to extend subway service in Harlem. When completed, the Second Avenue Subway will serve over 300,000 daily riders.
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