Money allocated to repair East River train tunnels

U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) said the federal Department of Transportation has agreed to provide $432 million for repairs to the East River tunnels heavily damaged by Superstorm Sandy despite a federal court decision posing possible delays in the project.

Schumer said a delay in repairs to the tunnel would have been “unacceptab­le, even dangerous and would have given hundreds of thousands of LIRR and other commuters a giant headache.”

The senator said a recent U.S. District Court decision to stall Amtrak’s $550 million in Sandy-related insurance payouts had put the much-needed repairs in limbo, which Schumer said spurred him to push for federal action.

“The U.S. Department of Transportation and Secretary Foxx have rightfully heeded the call and will inject $432 million into the Metropolitan Transportation Authority for critical projects like the Long Island Rail Road tunnel project—and this not a moment too soon,” said Schumer.

Read more: http://www.timesledger.com/stories/2016/28/tunnel_2016_07_08_q.html