House bill would provide $900 million to jump start Amtrak tunnel, bridge replacement

Rejecting Amtrak cuts proposed by President Donald Trump, a House spending bill would provide $900 million that could start the massive Gateway project, which includes replacing the 106-year-old Portal Bridge in the Meadowlands and digging a new rail tunnel under the Hudson River.

The funding, which Gov. Chris Christie credited to the work of House of Appropriations Committee chairman Rodney Frelinghuysen, could face revision in the Senate because projects sought by other states were zeroed out. And it is unclear if the Trump administration will support it.

But transportation experts said it was a notable achievement in the current budget climate.

"It’s hard to direct money to individual projects in light of Congress' earmark ban," said Jeff Davis, a senior fellow at the Eno Center for Transportation, a Washington think tank. "He threaded the needle nicely."

Read more: http://www.northjersey.com/story/news/new-jersey/2017/07/11/house-preparing-reject-trump-cuts-amtrak/467350001/