Rep. Sherrill Helps Deliver Key Funding for Gateway Project Through Bipartisan Infrastructure Law

Washington, DC– Today, Representative Mikie Sherrill (NJ-11) helped deliver over $292 million in Department of Transportation grants for Amtrak to complete critical construction needed to develop the new Hudson River Tunnel between New Jersey and New York. This funding is part of the Mega Program, which was championed by Rep. Sherrill as a way to fund large, complex infrastructure projects that are difficult to fund through existing programs. The Mega Program was created by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law in 2021. The awarding of these grants is a crucial step towards completing the Gateway Project as a whole and reducing travel costs and times for millions of New Jersey families.

“The Gateway Project is the nation’s most critical infrastructure project, and this announcement is a long-awaited step in ensuring its completion and subsequent revitalization of New Jersey’s transportation system,” said Rep. Sherrill. “By completing the new Hudson Tunnel, we are investing in a stronger economy, more efficient travel throughout the Northeast Region, and improved safety and reduced congestion on our roads for New Jersey families.”

Gateway is crucial not just to New Jersey and New York, but to the economy of the entire nation. A failure of the century-old Hudson River Tunnel could cost American businesses and families $16 billion over four years, and a partial closure could reduce property values in New Jersey alone by $22 billion.

The bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act created the Mega Program (also called the National Infrastructure Project Assistance Program) in 2021 and authorized $5 billion in funding to help develop and complete large projects that are likely to generate national economic, mobility, and safety benefits. Rep. Sherrill and the New Jersey Congressional delegation championed this program as an innovative way to secure the final funding needed to complete the Gateway Project, which will create significant national benefits from faster travel times, lower travel costs, improved safety and public health, reduced congestion and air pollution, and thousands of new jobs. Amtrak has estimated that Gateway will result in a benefit-to-cost ratio of over 4-to-1.

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