The delayed and over-budget Hudson River tunnel project in New York and New Jersey received yet another $3.8 billion from U.S. taxpayers, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced.
The funds will be used to build a new two-track train tunnel under the Hudson River and refurbish an existing one connecting Newark, NJ to New York City, The New York Daily News reported.
The tunnel project now has a $16 billion-$17 billion price tag.
On an average day, 425 trains pass through the tubes of the existing North River tunnel, a route serving Penn Station that opened in 1910.
That wear and tear, plus the salt water damage from Hurricane Sandy in 2012, has led the tunnel to need a serious overhaul. The project will add another tunnel with two tracks under the river.
The $3.8 billion comes shortly after the project got a record-breaking $6.9 billion in July, The New York Post reported.
That collective $11 billion from the federal government accounts for about 65% of the total tunnel construction costs, with the remaining $5 billion to be split by New York and New Jersey.
The tunnel project is part of a larger Gateway project, which aims to increase the number of trains running between New York and Newark Penn Stations along the Northeast Corridor line.
This tunnel project’s $16 billion price tag has increased, up from $11 billion, with the federal government’s share ever increasing.
Even when the $6.9 billion was awarded in July, The New York Times reported “Gateway’s planners still hope to receive more funding from other federal programs to raise Washington’s share of the total cost to at least half” of the remaining $16 billion it will take to complete the project.
Which leads to the recent $3.8 billion award.
Taxpayers in the rest of the country shouldn’t be paying for two-thirds of a massive project they’ll never use, especially one with out-of-control costs.
The #WasteOfTheDay is brought to you by the forensic auditors at OpenTheBooks.com
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