Less than a month after the Regional Plan Association testified in support of the Access to the Region's Core Railroad Passenger Station, the NJ TRANSIT and Port Authority project received exciting news on June 8: the federal government announced that it would contribute $3 billion to the tunnel, meaning the project's $8.7 billion budget is fully funded as construction begins this week.
The Obama administration's announcement, which was handed down on the day of the groundbreaking in New Jersey for the new rail tunnel, is good news for residents of the New York metropolitan region. The major construction project will provide jobs in a slowing economy, and the tunnel itself will double commuter rail access to Midtown. Further, the implementation of ARC, which has been renamed the "Mass Transit Tunnel," is an important step in maintaining regional mobility and fueling Transit-Oriented Development. Robert Yaro, president of RPA said, "ARC is one of the most urgently needed transportation improvements in the region given that nine in ten new commuters to Manhattan are from west of the Hudson River, and that NJ TRANSIT's existing tunnel is now at capacity."
Read RPA's report on ARC's benefits to New York CIty
Image Credit: NJTRANSIT http://www.thetunnelproject.com/
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