U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg recommended providing $4.45 billion in funding for 18 major transit projects across 11 states to boost regional transit services and stimulate economic growth.
The Department of Transportation (DOT) states the funding will support projects that "will build community-defining transit to move millions of Americans" in a March 9 announcement of the recommendation. Federal support for the rail and bus rapid transit (BRT) projects was advised in President Joe Biden's Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 Budget Request to Congress; nine of the 18 projects received funding recommendations for the first time, according to the news release.
"The projects will improve how people travel in their communities, create and sustain jobs in construction and operations, and help communities provide better, more frequent transit service," the DOT states in the news release. "More transit means more access for everyone – to economic opportunities and services essential for daily life – as well as reducing the greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change."
In the New York and New Jersey area, the proposal includes $700 million for the Hudson Tunnel Project, which aims to improve the reliability of N.J. Transit and Amtrak trains by constructing a new two-track heavy rail tunnel along the Northeast Corridor from Bergen Palisades in New Jersey to Manhattan. A second New York metro area project would put up $496.8 million for the proposed Second Avenue Subway Phase II Project, according to the release.
"Our department is proposing funding for the Second Avenue Subway extension and new Hudson River train tunnels in NYC, two of the most long-awaited transit projects in the region,” Buttigieg said in a March 20 tweet.
The Second Avenue Subway Phase 2 project by the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (NYMTA) plans to extend heavy rail subway service along the East Side of Manhattan. It includes constructing three new stations, power substations, signal and communication systems, and car cleaning facilities.
The service is expected to operate 24/7, providing much-needed transit access to East Side residents, workers, and visitors, and reduce crowding on the nearly century-old Lexington Avenue Subway Line. The project entered New Starts Project Development in December 2016 and is expected to receive a Full Funding Grant Agreement in 2022, opening for revenue service in 2029, the release states.
As part of the Northeast Corridor Gateway Program, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and other organizations proposed a new two-track heavy rail tunnel along the Northeast Corridor from Bergen Palisades in New Jersey to Manhattan.
The project includes the rehabilitation and modernization of the existing North River tunnel, the Hudson Yards right-of-way preservation project, and a new Hudson Tunnel. The objective is to enhance current service and create new capacity as the North River tunnel, over 110 years old, presents reliability challenges. The project is anticipated to run trains every few minutes during peak periods and operate 24/7, the statement reports.
