Trump Administration Sued Over Cutting Off Funds for $16 Billion Tunnel

Source: NYT

"The agency overseeing construction of a $16 billion rail tunnel under the Hudson River sued the federal government on Monday for cutting off the project’s funding and leaving it without enough money to keep building beyond this week.

The agency, the Gateway Development Commission, filed suit in federal court in Washington against the United States for withholding $205 million in payments for work on the tunnel, which would connect New York and New Jersey. The project is critical to avoid a disruption in rail travel around New York City that would have drastic effects on the national economy, its supporters say.

The suit contends that the federal Department of Transportation has breached several grant and loan agreements by suspending funding for the tunnel project. In its filing, the commission raises the concern that the suspension is political, citing statements by “senior executive branch officials” that linked the funding cuts to the project’s status as a “Democratic program.”

The commission, which is controlled by Amtrak and the governors of New York and New Jersey, warned last week that it would have to shut down work sites on both sides of the Hudson and in the river by Feb. 6 because the Trump administration suspended its funding four months ago. About 1,000 workers would have to be laid off, the commission said...."



Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/02/nyregion/hudson-river-tunnel-lawsuit-gateway.html