On 12.11.2018 a group backing the construction of the
Gateway Tunnel Project released a poll that found support for the first two projects
in the program, the Port North Bridge and Hudson Tunnel Projects. The survey
was conducted by the Gateway Program Development Corp. and comes as state
officials like Gov. Andrew Cuomo have made public appeals for the federal
government to help fund the project.
The century-old tunnel almost 4 km (13,000 feet) long from
New York to New Jersey beneath the river was severely damaged by Hurricane
Sandy, and while President Barack Obama had pledged to split the cost of the
$30 billion project, the Trump administration has said it won’t contribute
federal funds. The tunnel is owned by Amtrak and it is central in the North
East Corridor.
The two tubes were built using cast iron not in rock . They
were basically built lying on the river bed and now sit about 20 feet down in
the silt, so water intrudes from the river through the cast iron ring into the
cement that lines the tunnels. The intrusion of the saltwater over time has
been continuing to deteriorate the concrete. It has reached the rebar and the
corroding the rebar is actually breaking apart the cement which is then falling
down onto the track. The ceilings of the tunnels have high power cables that
power the trains through the tunnel. The bench walls either side of the tunnel
are also now deteriorating . On top of all of this superstorm Sandy filled much
of the tunnel with salt water. Once the salt water was pumped out of the tunnel
much of the salt residue remained. That salt is still sitting on the cement decomposing
the cement and eroding the copper cables.
The new tunnel project proposes the construction of two new
tunnels near the old tunnels. Once the new tunnels are constructed the two old
tunnels will be taken out of service and rebuilt. The estimated duration of
works is 7 -8 years. The cost to build the two new tunnels is estimated in the region
of USD12-13 bn. The federal government would pay 50% of the cost, New Jersey
New York and the New York New Jersey Port Authority would pay the other 50%.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo toured the damaged tunnel in October to underline
the importance of federal funds to the repair project. The tunnel is the only
intercity passenger rail that links New York and New Jersey, serving more than
200,000 daily commuters. Plus, all Amtrak trains that operate between
Washington and Boston pass through one of the single-track tunnels.
Click here for a video,
here and us/21 for tunnebuilder archive. Visit http://www.gatewayprogram.org, http://www.hudsontunnelproject.com/
and https://nec.amtrak.com/project/the-hudson-tunnel-project/
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Links:-
http://www.gatewayprogram.org/content/dam/nec/gdc-press/2018-11-12%20GW%20Survey%20Results.pdf
