Trumps DOT withdraws from $24B New York-New Jersey tunnel project.

'The Trump administration has pulled out of a group overseeing a $24 billion transportation project meant to increase train capacity between New York and New Jersey.

The Department of Transportation sent notice of its withdrawal to the Gateway Program Development Corporation on Friday.

“It is not DOT’s standard practice to serve in such a capacity on other local transportation projects,” said the letter to Richard Bagger, chairman of Gateway’s board of trustees. . .

The existing underwater tunnel is more than a century old and it took a beating from Hurricane Sandy. A new tunnel would let crews repair the old tube, a source of chronic delays and equipment malfunctions.

To fund the massive infrastructure projects, New York and New Jersey officials agreed with the Obama administration to split the costs with the federal government. The development corporation was formed to coordinate financing and construction.

“The Trump administration wants to distance itself from that blanket commitment,” said Jeff Davis, senior fellow at the nonprofit Eno Center for Transportation.'

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/trump-dot-quits-24b-n-y-transportation-project-article-1.3298435