At a New Jersey State Assembly budget hearing last Tuesday, NJDOT Commissioner Kris Kolluri told state legislators that the state needed to come up with $1.5 billion for the “Access to the Region’s Core” trans-Hudson rail tunnel and Penn Station extension by October or it would risk losing federal matching funds. This should serve as a kick in the pants of legislators who will need to find a solution for NJ’s transportation funding issues that is more workable than Gov. Corzine’s unpopular “fiscal restructuring” plan, or jeopardize the most critical transit project in the state.
The $1.5 billion is money that New Jersey has already committed to the project. The problem is determining where it will actually come from, since the state’s Transportation Trust Fund will go bankrupt in 2011 unless it is replenished. Fixing the TTF is therefore essential to demonstrating to USDOT that the local portion of project funding is in place, a prerequisite for federal matching funds.
The deadline seems legit. An NJ Transit spokesperson told MTR: “The ARC project’s construction schedule anticipates a funding agreement with the federal government in 2009. Before a funding agreement can be executed, there is a statutorily required congressional notification period, which dictates having the local funding in place by October.”
In other words, if the state can’t stabilize its transportation financing by October, a Full Funding Grant Agreement (a commitment from the Federal Transit Administration to fund a specified portion of the project costs) could be delayed until 2010 at the earliest. Every year counts, as the existing trans-Hudson tunnel has no leftover capacity during peak hours and NJ Transit has limited options to accommodate increasing ridership. Turnover at USDOT and the FTA as a new presidential administration settles in could further compound any delay.
Image: Cross-section rendering of Penn Station expansion. (From ARC Public Hearing Presentation/NJ Transit)
Given the current plans for the tunnel and the related Portal Bridge project, the best thing that could happen is for them to be shelved until a complete redesign can be done. The plans do NOT bring about an integrated system, do NOT support growth in New Jersey, and seem to be a way to minimize benefit.
I could support a plan that linked the tunnels to just the current Penn Station and added a joint LIRR/NJT east side station. I could support a plan that had the tunnel connect to a Grand Central Terminal area station with through running with either Metro-North or the LIRR east side access (probably impossible due to East River tunnel dimensions). The first would include connecting tracks 1 – 4 to the East River tunnel lines and have through running with the LIRR so that NO commuter trains terminate in Penn Station. The second plan would modify the proposed “annex” station to just a two track three platform station and assumes that an MU fleet shared with Metro-North (or the LIRR) would be used to provide a 24 – 27 train per hour per direction service similar to the Munich S-Bahn. It would build on the expressions of interest in through running by the head of the MTA.
The proposed connections to the Bergen county lines offer little advantage time wise over the current transfer facilities at Secaucus Junction. They also are used as a justification for building a three track fixed bridge plus 2 track lift bridge replacement for the Portal Bridge rather than a 4 track fixed bridge. The expansion to the current Secaucus Junction station also should be reevaluated.
Then there are the little details such as perpetuating 25 cycle power on new extensions rather than having a policy of slow upgrading to 60 cycle.
In the current times of high construction inflation coupled with an economic slowdown, a pause may time the project to take advantage of slowdowns in the construction industry. It also would give time to coordinate equipment procurement so that cross Manhattan service can be a reality.
[…] a $1.5 billion local match ready when construction rolls around (see MTR, April ‘08: “Are NJ Funding Woes Threatening ARC?“). Finding all of the money has proved difficult in NJ – not a state known for either fiscal […]
[…] capacity and reduce car traffic into New York, is now entering a critical phase. In April, the Tri-State Transportation Campaign reported that local funds must be in place by October in order for the feds to release their matching grant, […]
As Clark Morris suggests, shove this project into a complete redesign and restudy ALL options. Take into consideration the bus riders into PABT, almost 3 times more numerous than NJT Rail riders, especially since all New Jersey taxpayers pay the bill.
One cheap option extends 50% of the service on the #7 Flushing line subway, being extended to the far West Side by Mayor Bloomberg. This option would run from a connection to the #7 extension on the far west side in a subway tunnel under the Hudson river & Palisades, then onto an “L” parallel
to the NJ Turnpike to Secaucus Transfer with
a stop at Lincoln Harbor for transfers from/to HBLRT & Bergen buses. Transfer station at Secaucus would be built for both
Bus & Rail riders, giving riders to the East Side direct access and an empty #7 train
every 3/4 min.
For details go to www. subwaytosecaucus.com.
[…] Access to the Region’s Core advocacy page here. For background, read MTR – “Are NJ Funding Woes Threatening Access to the Region’s Core?“, April […]