New York, New Jersey sue Trump administration over tunnel funding halt

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON, Feb 3 (Reuters) – New York and New Jersey late on Tuesday sued the Trump administration seeking an emergency court order to force the restoration of funding for the massive $16 billion Hudson River tunnel before construction is set to halt on Friday. 

U.S. President Donald Trump said in October he had terminated the project and the Transportation Department has refused to release any funding for the project approved during the administration of President Joe Biden that is the linchpin of rail travel between New York and New Jersey.

The suit in U.S. District Court in Manhattan filed by New York Attorney General Letitia James and acting New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport follows a court challenge filed on Monday by the Gateway Development Commission, which has said it will halt construction this week without funding being stored, putting about 1,000 workers out of work.

The states’ suit said funding was suspended because of Trump’s “desire to punish political rivals.” It names Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and the heads of the Federal Rail Administration and Federal Transit Administration.

The White House and USDOT did not immediately comment, but the White House said last week that Democrats “are standing in the way of a deal for the Gateway Tunnel Project by refusing to negotiate with the Trump administration. There is nothing stopping Democrats from prioritizing the interests of Americans over illegal aliens and getting this project back on track.”

Trump’s Republican administration has repeatedly targeted major transit and infrastructure projects in Democratic-led states.

Any failure of the existing Hudson tunnel, which was built in 1910 and heavily damaged by Hurricane Sandy in 2012, would hobble commuting in the metropolitan area that produces 10% of the country’s economic output and is used by over 200,000 travelers and 425 trains daily.

Nearly $2 billion has been spent on the project. The initiative, which received about $15 billion in federal support — involves repairs to an existing tunnel and the construction of a new one for passenger railroad Amtrak and state commuter lines between New Jersey and Manhattan and is the single largest U.S. infrastructure project.

USDOT accused Gateway in December of violating the law in the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise program to help small businesses run by “socially and economically disadvantaged individuals.” Gateway told USDOT it is in compliance with federal law.

Trump, a former New York City real estate developer, refused to approve funding for the project in his first term. The Trump administration is also trying to kill Manhattan’s congestion pricing program introduced last year, designed to reduce traffic and raise billions in funds for mass transit.

(Reporting by David Shepardson in Washington; Editing by Tom Hogue and Michael Perry)