Biden heads to New York to speak on the impact of the infrastructure bill on the Hudson Tunnel project

President Biden will travel to New York on Tuesday to announce a $292 million “mega-grant” to fund part of the Hudson Tunnel project thanks to a large-scale infrastructure package signed in November 2021.

Biden’s trip to the Big Apple follows a stop Monday in Baltimore, Maryland to mark a planned replacement for the 150-year-old tunnel, and previous trips earlier this month to Kentucky and the southern border, giving the strong impression that 80 -year-old commander-in-chief plans re-election in 2024.

“The Hudson Tunnel Project will create 72,000 well-paying jobs, restore the old North River Tunnel that opened in 1910, build a new tunnel under the Palisades, the Hudson River, and the waterfront in Manhattan, and improve reliability for 200,000 passengers in weekdays. on New Jersey Transit (NJ Transit) and Amtrak,” a White House spokesman said in a statement.

Nearly $300 million in federal funding for the long-delayed Hudson River Tunnel will help complete a critical early phase of the project, according to the White House.

According to a White House newsletter, the grant will go to Amtrak and will partially fund the last section of concrete sheathing designed to preserve the right-of-way of the new passenger rail tunnel under the Hudson River.

The total cost of this phase of the project is $649 million, and the total cost of the Hudson Tunnel project is estimated at more than $16 billion.

“The project will reduce travel time for NJ Transit passengers, improve Amtrak’s reliability on the Northeast Corridor (NEC), and support the economy of the Northeast region. Amtrak expects the Hudson Tunnel Project to create 72,000 direct and indirect jobs during construction with union partnerships for job training,” the White House said in a statement.

Passengers were delayed 12,653 minutes in 2020 due to problems caused by the tunnel’s aging infrastructure, according to the White House, and remnants of seawater that entered the tunnel in 2012 during Hurricane Sandy continue to damage concrete, steel, tracks and third rail. alarms and electrical components in the tunnel requiring regular and emergency maintenance.

The Hudson Tunnel Project is part of the ambitious Gateway Program, which aims to expand and rehabilitate the rail line between Newark and New York through several projects, such as the new Portal North Bridge, which began construction last year with $900 million dollars. in federal funds.

“The new Gateway Rail Tunnel is vital to New York, New Jersey and the entire Northeast. This has been my passion for ten years,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) told The Post earlier this month.

“Now that we have an administration that fully supports the Gateway, all systems are working. I invited the President to come to New York on Tuesday to talk about the great progress we are making as Gateway moves forward, and I look forward to joining him,” he added.

Biden will also announce that his administration has awarded nearly $1.2 billion in a discretionary grant program under the bipartisan infrastructure act, known as Mega, to major projects across the country, including the Brent Spence Bridge connecting Kentucky and Ohio and the bridge across the Calcasie river. Replacement in Louisiana.

In New York, the President is expected to be joined by Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY), Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Bob Menendez (D-NJ) ), Corey Booker (D-NJ), Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg and Gov. Phil Murphy (D-NJ).

The $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill was supported by several GOP Senators, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) and Senators Mitt Romney (R-Utah), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) , Susan Collins (R-Kentucky). Maine) and Rob Portman (R-Ohio), but he was opposed by progressive Democrats, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), who said Biden exaggerated the impact the bill would have and hoped adopt a broader law on social and environmental spending in its place.

While the announcement of his plans for 2024 doesn’t seem imminent, Biden appears to be refining his case for why he should stay in the White House for a second term during these January trips.

Biden held an event on the Brent Spence Bridge in Kentucky with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) and other Republicans, demonstrating what his infrastructure bill could achieve and touting what his administration could do with bipartisan support.

“We can get things done. We can move the nation forward if we just kick our egos a little and focus on what the country needs,” Biden said as GOP officials struggled to elect the speaker of the House of Representatives in Washington.

Biden also made his first trip to the southern border as president this month after two years of Republican demands to witness the migration crisis in person.

On Friday, the president’s infrastructure bill continues as he and Vice President Kamala Harris travel to Philadelphia to discuss how the bill is funding Philadelphia’s lead pipe removal, the White House said.