(The Center Square) — A multi-state commission overseeing work on a $16.6 billion rail tunnel under New York's Hudson River is suing the Trump administration for cutting off the project's funding.
In a lawsuit filed Monday in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, the Gateway Development Commission asks the court to release "contractually obligated" grant and loan funds for the Hudson Tunnel Project that were pulled back abruptly last week by the U.S. Department of Transportation.
Lawyers for the federal government's decision to withhold $12 billion in funding were "arbitrary and capricious" and would force construction at the project's five sites in Manhattan and northern New Jersey to stop by Friday unless the funds are released.
"Our goal has always been to work with our federal partners and get funding flowing again," GDC CEO Tom Prendergast said in a statement. "At the same time, we must hold the federal government to its contractual obligations so that construction is not halted. It's our responsibility to fight for the nation's most urgent infrastructure project and the nearly 1,000 workers whose jobs are threatened."
Gov. Kathy Hochul welcomed the lawsuit, saying the Gateway Tunnel is "essential to the future of New York and the economy of the entire region – every day 200,000 commuters who power 20% of the nation's economy depend on a safe, reliable ride under the Hudson River."
"For months, Donald Trump and his enablers in Washington have illegally withheld committed funding for this project in a brazen act of political retribution intended to hurt New Yorkers, putting thousands of union jobs and billions of dollars in economic benefits at risk," she said in a statement.
Trump has targeted his former state with federal funding cuts in response to top Democrats' pushback over immigration crackdowns, a rollback of transgender protections and other divisive White House policies. He has also blamed top New York Democrats like Sen. Chuck Schumer for shutting down the government last year in a fight over federal health care subsidies.
"It's Chuck Schumer and Democrats who are standing in the way of a deal for the Gateway Tunnel Project by refusing to negotiate with the Trump administration," the White House said in a statement last week. "There is nothing stopping Democrats from prioritizing the interests of Americans over illegal aliens and getting this project back on track."
But Schumer said the lawsuit wouldn't be unnecessary "if President Trump did the right thing for New York and New Jersey and lifted his arbitrary freeze."
"Gateway is the most important infrastructure project in the country, and tens of thousands of union workers depend on it moving forward," Schumer said in a statement.
The Hudson Tunnel project, billed as the largest construction project in the nation, calls for renovating the 1910 tunnel, which carries about 200,000 weekday passengers on Amtrak and NJ Transit beneath the Hudson between New Jersey and Manhattan. It's expected to be completed by 2035.
The renovations, years in the making, are expected to double the capacity of the Northeast Corridor train line between Newark and New York City — which state and federal officials say will improve rail mobility from Washington, D.C., to Boston and other destinations.
New York and New Jersey agreed last year to split the 30% local share of tunnel construction costs, a move required to apply for federal funding.
Backers of the massive taxpayer-funded Hudson Tunnel project say the work will create 72,000 jobs and $19 billion in economic activity and demonstrates that the federal government can tackle massive projects during a critical time for transportation and mass transit. They also say it will ease a bottleneck of rail traffic coming to and from the city, which could worsen if renovations aren't completed.
