Nadler sees “light at the end of this tunnel”
Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., a long-time advocate for construction of a tunnel to move rail cargo across New York Harbor, is applauding a vote scheduled for today by the board of commissioners of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to take over an environmental impact study of the project,“Today’s vote to transfer the Cross Harbor Rail Freight Tunnel to the port authority is a major step forward for this important project,” Nadler said. “Governors Spitzer and Corzine, and the port authority’s leadership — Anthony Shorris and Anthony Coscia — are showing great vision by moving the tunnel forward. The restarting of the project is also an important first stage of Gov. Spitzer’s commitment to promote rail as an alternative to trucking and to change the way we move freight in the New York area.”
Nadler said he was “confident that now that the PA has taken the reins, we will see quick progress and soon complete the work that needs to be done to make this tunnel a reality, and relieve New Yorkers of 1 million trucks a year rumbling through our streets. There truly is light at the end of this tunnel.”
He has been talking about the need for the tunnel for nearly three decades, and obtained an earmark of up to $100 million in funds for the project in the last federal highway bill.
The tunnel was first proposed in the 1920s.
