New York Construction Report staff writer
A federal appeals court has cleared the way for the release of more than $200 million in funding for the Gateway Tunnel Project, declining Thursday to overrule a lower court order compelling the Trump administration to let the money flow for two weeks.
The ruling comes amid growing pressure from labour leaders and elected officials.
More than 200 union construction workers rallied Monday at the Tonnelle Avenue construction site in North Bergen, N.J., protesting what they called the Trump administration’s cancellation of funding for the $16-billion rail infrastructure project.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit referred the federal government’s appeal of U.S. District Court Judge Jeannette Vargas’s Feb. 6 decision to a motions panel rather than ruling on it directly. The referral means Vargas’ order temporarily requiring the administration to release funds it has withheld since October will automatically take effect.
Federal officials are expected to be compelled to release the funds as early as today. The motions panel is not expected to convene until the week of Feb. 23 at the earliest.
Members of the Laborers’ International Union of North America were joined by New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill and U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer, the Senate minority leader. Speakers urged the administration to restore full federal support for the trans-Hudson rail tunnel program.
“Each day hundreds of LIUNA members and their building trades brothers and sisters report to work on the Gateway Hudson Tunnel to provide for their families,” LIUNA General President Brent Booker said in a statement. “While workers have shown up at the crack of dawn every day, the Trump administration has failed to show up for them.
“We call on President Trump to stop holding our livelihoods hostage, put working people and our economy first, and immediately release funding for the Gateway Tunnel Project.”
Layoff notices were issued Feb. 6 to about 1,000 construction workers after funding was halted, union officials said.
LIUNA Vice President and Eastern Regional Manager Mike Hellstrom told rally participants that infrastructure investment has historically garnered bipartisan support.
“The jobs of LIUNA members and other construction workers shouldn’t be used as political leverage,” Hellstrom said. “Work to modernize America’s transportation system and replace a 116-year-old rail tunnel shouldn’t be canceled to score political points.
“Nothing about canceling Gateway says American First agenda, just the opposite. The Trump administration must get to work and release the congressionally appropriated funds so our members can get to work building the Gateway Tunnel.”
Schumer called the funding stoppage “senseless.”
“Every day this drags on, millions of taxpayer dollars are wasted, contractors sit idle, union workers are sidelined, and the final cost of this project goes up for no reason,” he said. “President Trump can end this today. Release the funds. Put workers back on the job. Restart Gateway now.”
Union officials said many of their members supported President Donald Trump in past elections but now feel betrayed by what they describe as political maneuvering that jeopardizes jobs and critical infrastructure.
The Gateway Tunnel Project is considered one of the most significant transportation initiatives in the United States. It would add new rail capacity under the Hudson River and replace aging infrastructure along the Northeast Corridor, which carries hundreds of thousands of passengers daily between Washington and Boston. Union leaders warned that a prolonged shutdown or failure of the existing tunnels could severely disrupt service across the region.
