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Hudson River Tunnels Have 20 years to Live
Amtrak chief gives aging Hudson rail tunnels 20 years to live, tops
By Steve Strunsky/The Star-Ledger
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on May 05, 2014 at 3:00 PM
Workers demonstrated in North Bergen, in support of the ARC trans-Hudson rail tunnel in November 2010, which was cancelled by Gov Chris Christie. Amtrak CEO Joe Boardman warns the two existing tunnels now serving a crowded 160,000 passers per day could be forced to shut down within 20 years. (Ramin Talaie/Getty Images)
Amtrak Chief Executive Officer Joe Boardman said the two existing rail tunnels that now carry 160,000 commuters a day under the Hudson River will have to be shut within 20 years, according to a published report.
“I’m being told we got something less than 20 years before we have to shut one or two down,†Boardman said during a transportation conference last week in Manhattan, according to a report by Capital New York. “Something less than 20. I don’t know if that something less than 20 is seven, or some other number. But to build two new ones, you’re talking seven to nine years to deliver, if we all decided today that we could do it."
The executive director of the transportation think tank that hosted the conference, the Regional Plan Association, described Boardman’s remarks as “a big shock,†the report said.
“I’ve been hearing abstractly people at Amtrak and other people at New Jersey Transit say for years the tunnels are over 100 years old and we have to be worried about them,†the executive director, Tom Wright, was quoted as saying. “To actually have Joe put something concrete on the table, less than 20 years … Within my office, there was a level of, ‘Wow, this is really serious.'â€
In late 2010, Gov. Chris Christie cited already rising cost estimates and potential overruns when he cancelled longtime plans for the so-called ARC tunnel, a multi-billion dollar project that would have added two new tubes and doubled trans-Hudson rail capacity.
NJ Transit was the lead agency on the project, which also involved the federal government and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Christie directed the Port Authority to redirect $1.8 billion of the $3 billion it had set aside for the ARC project, and instead use it to overhaul the Pulaski Skyway and related infrastructure projects.
Amtrak has since announced that it would take the lead on a new, "Gateway" tunnel project, though funding for the project has not been determined, and projections for its completion date range from 15 to 25 years.
And that's not soon enough, said Boardman, according to the report.
NJ Transit declined to comment.
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/201...t_river_hudson
Amtrak chief gives aging Hudson rail tunnels 20 years to live, tops
By Steve Strunsky/The Star-Ledger
Email the author | Follow on Twitter
on May 05, 2014 at 3:00 PM
Workers demonstrated in North Bergen, in support of the ARC trans-Hudson rail tunnel in November 2010, which was cancelled by Gov Chris Christie. Amtrak CEO Joe Boardman warns the two existing tunnels now serving a crowded 160,000 passers per day could be forced to shut down within 20 years. (Ramin Talaie/Getty Images)
Amtrak Chief Executive Officer Joe Boardman said the two existing rail tunnels that now carry 160,000 commuters a day under the Hudson River will have to be shut within 20 years, according to a published report.
“I’m being told we got something less than 20 years before we have to shut one or two down,†Boardman said during a transportation conference last week in Manhattan, according to a report by Capital New York. “Something less than 20. I don’t know if that something less than 20 is seven, or some other number. But to build two new ones, you’re talking seven to nine years to deliver, if we all decided today that we could do it."
The executive director of the transportation think tank that hosted the conference, the Regional Plan Association, described Boardman’s remarks as “a big shock,†the report said.
“I’ve been hearing abstractly people at Amtrak and other people at New Jersey Transit say for years the tunnels are over 100 years old and we have to be worried about them,†the executive director, Tom Wright, was quoted as saying. “To actually have Joe put something concrete on the table, less than 20 years … Within my office, there was a level of, ‘Wow, this is really serious.'â€
In late 2010, Gov. Chris Christie cited already rising cost estimates and potential overruns when he cancelled longtime plans for the so-called ARC tunnel, a multi-billion dollar project that would have added two new tubes and doubled trans-Hudson rail capacity.
NJ Transit was the lead agency on the project, which also involved the federal government and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Christie directed the Port Authority to redirect $1.8 billion of the $3 billion it had set aside for the ARC project, and instead use it to overhaul the Pulaski Skyway and related infrastructure projects.
Amtrak has since announced that it would take the lead on a new, "Gateway" tunnel project, though funding for the project has not been determined, and projections for its completion date range from 15 to 25 years.
And that's not soon enough, said Boardman, according to the report.
NJ Transit declined to comment.
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/201...t_river_hudson
