The Trump administration won a reprieve until Thursday as it seeks an appeals court’s blessing to keep a freeze on federal funds for the $16 billion Gateway tunnel.
A federal judge in Manhattan agreed on Monday to give the US Department of Transportation three more days to ask a higher court to pause her Friday order releasing the funds while the the government challenges it in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.
The Gateway Development Commission is building the new rail tunnel that will shuttle Amtrak and New Jersey Transit trains between the Garden State and Manhattan. But the agency had to stop construction late Friday because it has exhausted all of its funding sources. Public officials in the two states, transit advocates and construction workers have spoken out against the holdup of federal dollars.
“We took him to court, we won in court,” New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill said Monday in a video post on social media, referring to President Donald Trump “He should be releasing the money as we speak. Instead, he’s still playing political games as people in the region suffer, as people can’t get to work on time.”
DOT’s push to end the tunnel funding comes as thousands of commuters Monday morning were delayed while New Jersey Transit and Amtrak temporarily suspended service and canceled some trains because of a fallen overhead wire. The problem will continue to affect the evening peak period, Kris Kolluri, New Jersey Transit’s chief executive officer, said in a statement.
The Trump administration has been in a standstill with Gateway since October, when it halted funding for the tunnel over a new rule that prohibits contracting requirements based on race or sex.
New York and New Jersey sued the administration last week after Gateway filed its own suit in the US Court of Federal Claims in an effort to unlock more than $205 million of federal funds. A status conference in Gateway’s suit is set for Tuesday.
Vargas on Friday sided with the states and ordered the federal government to release the funds. The DOT late Sunday filed notice that it intends to appeal.
The Gateway tunnel under the Hudson River is one of the most ambitious infrastructure projects in the US and will help relieve congestion in the existing tube, which is more than 100 years old.
“We are encouraged by Friday’s court decision and will continue to pursue all avenues to regain federal funding,” a spokesperson for Gateway said in a statement Sunday.
With assistance from Mark Tannenbaum.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
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