Gateway Commission formalizes commitment to become project sponsor for Hudson Tunnel Project

During a meeting on May 12, the Board of the Gateway Development Commission voted to formally recognize its commitment to take over as project sponsor of the Hudson Tunnel Project.  

The commission will take over from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey prior to a Full Funding Grant Agreement with the federal government.  

The commission also heard from staff updating it on progress in meeting the U.S. Department of Transportation’s commitment to a joint Final Environmental Impact Statement/Record of Decision on the tunnel project by May 28, as well as continued procurement advancement on the Portal North Bridge project. 

The resolution formalizing the project sponsorship commitment highlighted that the commission “confirms its commitment to assume the role of federal grant recipient and NEPA Project Sponsor for the Hudson Tunnel Project from the Port Authority, prior to the signing of a CIG Full Funding Grant Agreement or other federal funding agreement, consistent with the legislative purpose of the commission.” 

The Gateway Development Commissioners said jointly, “T[his] action formalizes what we’ve all been working together towards for many years. GDC will be a strong, active, well developed partnership between Amtrak, New Jersey and New York, working hand in hand with the federal government, meeting its responsibility to deliver on the most urgent infrastructure project in the region and the nation. One step at a time, we’re moving closer to the day when hundreds of thousands of daily riders will finally benefit from truly 21st Century rail transportation.”  

During the meeting, the commission also voted to appoint acting officers including Edmund Caulfield as acting general counsel, acting chief ethics and compliance officer and acting secretary; Suma Mandel as acting chief administrative officer; Frank Sacr as acting chief financial officer; and Stephen Sigmund as acting chief of public outreach.