The Hudson gets an upgrade

Getting stuck in traffic while trying to enter New York city is something of a right of passage (no pun intended) to a New Jersey citizen. In the memories of all New Jersey you I’ll find a memory of staring emptily at Holland tunnel traffic or having your legs fall asleep as you wait, patiently, on an Amtrak platform. This shared suffering has united us in solidarity for decades.

In an attempt to ease this experience, NJ/NY transit has secured a $6.9 Billion grant to completely revitalize the Hudson tunnel, hoping to relieve pressure on those commuting into the city by adding another two way track to the transit line.

What for?

The purpose of grant is to take the Hudson tunnel, damaged 11 years ago in superstorm Sandy, and repair it after a new two lane tunnel is built. It will be done like this to take better serve commuters who will be displaced during the repairs. Given that the transit lines into and out of Manhattan are the busiest in the country, it makes sense that the $6.9 Billion is also the largest federal grant ever for American travel.

This grant is the first part of the much larger Gateway program which in total will cost $16 billion. This program is recognized by many as the most important infrastructure project in the country, hoping to achieve the following goals:

• Portal North Bridge. One of, if not the, most important bridges in the country, carrying over 450 Amtrak and NJ transit cars per day.

• Hudson tunnel. Adding to and refurbishing the deteriorating Hudson tunnel.

• Expanding Penn station. The bottleneck of transit along the northeast coast.

The increase in focus on transportation comes after a consistent trend of Americans leaving major cities. 10 years in a row, large cities have lost residents, and this number took an even larger bump after the pandemic. With no vision towards an end, the New York Post reports that 27% of New Yorkers want to leave within the next 5 years.

Where to? Well, probably here.

With most corporate work still taking place in NYC, those looking to keep their jobs but get out of the city are likely to come to New Jersey where they will be able to continue their work, and take the new Hudson tunnel back into the city. And with the seemingly endless amount of new apartment buildings popping up throughout the state, there will certainly be places to house new neighbors.

Although due to a 10 year completion window, there is nothing to be too excited yet as anything can happen, and just the idea of more traffic into the city, if something goes wrong, gives me chills.