N.Y.-N.J. Port Authority will take over study of freight tunnel

N.Y.-N.J. Port Authority will take over study of freight tunnel The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey will reportedly take over sponsorship of a cross harbor rail freight tunnel study in New York City.
   The port authority commissioners are expected to vote Thursday at their monthly meeting to sponsor an environmental impact statement on the proposal, which has been in the works for nearly 20 years.
   Sponsorship will allow the region to tap up to $100 million in funds that has been earmarked for the project.
   Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., the long-time proponent of a tunnel that would connect New Jersey or Staten Island with Long Island, said earlier this year that a tunnel could remove one million diesel trucks per year from New York City streets, vastly reducing the amount of air pollution from diesel engines.
   Nadler said a study, conducted by the Clean Air Task Force, found that more than 1,700 New York City residents die prematurely each year as a result of exposure to diesel fumes.
   The New York City Economic Development Commission had been a sponsor of the study, but in 2005, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said he opposed the tunnel because of concerns that it would destroy housing and the study stalled.
   Today, rail cargo moving to Long Island must either be floated on barges across New York Harbor or routed to a rail bridge across the Hudson River at Selkirk, N.Y., 140 miles north of New York City.
   Freight must move south on the Hudson Line down the east side of the Hudson River to yards in the Bronx and on Long Island. From there, most shipments are transported by truck to their final destination.