STATEMENT: Gottheimer Statement on the Long-Deserved Upgraded Rating to the Portal Bridge Project

Today, Monday, February 10, 2020, U.S. Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5) released the following statement:

“With this long-deserved rating for the Portal Bridge, North Jersey will finally be able to begin moving forward with the most important infrastructure project in our country. Jersey has held up our end of the bargain, and now I’m hopeful that the federal government will hold up theirs. Thousands of workers already face a grueling commute, with far too many delays, on an outdated system of tunnels and bridges. We now need the federal government to update their rating on the Gateway plan to replace the century-old tunnels beneath the Hudson River, so this part of the project can move forward too. We know that infrastructure investment gives one of the best returns on investment of anything. We know that commuters depend on these tunnels to get to work, so they can provide for their families. We know that if one of the tunnels were to crumble, it would cost the regional economy $100 million a day. Here in the greatest country in the world, we all have a responsibility, and the ability, to do whatever we can, at all levels of government to fix this tunnel and our crumbling infrastructure. We cannot afford to delay a day longer.”

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