N.J. Rail Bridge Funding Hits Snag Just as Project Seemed Closer
N.J. Rail Bridge Funding Hits Snag Just as Project Seemed Closer
(Bloomberg) -- New Jersey Transit’s plan to divert some of its Amtrak payments toward a $1.6 billion replacement of a decrepit rail bridge has met a challenge from the U.S. Justice Department.
In an 11-page Office of Legal Counsel opinion, Jennifer L. Mascott, a deputy assistant U.S. attorney general, wrote that such a funding arrangement would violate the Amtrak Reform Act, which applies in part to the national railroad’s spending.
The opinion, dated Feb. 13 and released Friday, is the latest potential setback for replacing the Portal Bridge, a 110-year-old swing span over the Hackensack River near Secaucus and Kearny, New Jersey. On Feb. 12, after years of delays, federal officials announced that the project -- part of Amtrak’s Gateway proposal to improve New York City-area rail -- had achieved a new Transportation Department rating, making it eligible for federal funding.
Representatives of Amtrak, NJ Transit and the Gateway Development Commission didn’t immediately respond to emails requesting comment on how the opinion could affect the financing plan.
The Portal Bridge is key to Northeastern U.S. rail travel in a region that accounts for 20% of gross domestic product, according to Amtrak. The structure is so prone to malfunctioning that crews sometimes need to whack it into place with sledgehammers. Plans to replace it, and to build a second Amtrak rail tunnel under the Hudson River into New York City, have been stalled by President Donald Trump, who insists that federal taxpayers shouldn’t bear so much of the projects’ costs.
New York and New Jersey established the Gateway Development Commission to further the improvements. In her opinion, Mascott said the commission has no authority to let New Jersey, which pays Amtrak for the use of its tracks, direct some money specifically for the Portal Bridge.
To contact the reporter on this story: Elise Young in Trenton at eyoung30@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Flynn McRoberts at fmcroberts1@bloomberg.net, Steve Geimann
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