Infrastructure Oh My

[KmH]

Out of sight, out of mind.
Just one example, but one that will probably severely impact the economy around NYC in the not to distant future.

The Most Awful Train Station in America Could Get Unimaginably Worse

 

[limr]

Penn Station has been a hot mess for a long time. And it's worse now.

 

[terri]

Scary article - good reporting on a serious issue.

 

[SCraig]

Payback is hell.

 

[KmH]

Because of the salt water tunnel flooding from Sandy time is rapidly getting short.
If the tunnels collapse before new ones are constructed the disruption some 500,000 people per work DAY will suffer won't be for a few days. It will be for years.

"If Amtrak and New Jersey Transit have to rely on a single Hudson tunnel, they could operate just six trains an hour, rather than the current 24."

If neither tunnel is serviceable it will be zero trains per hour.

Christy and Trump. Birds of a feather - F'n assholes.

Construction of new tunnels with increased capacity and modern technology should have started years ago.

 

[Designer]

Christy and Trump. Birds of a feather - *'**********

How are two currently-serving politicians connected with this? Did they have something to do with the condition of the tunnels?

 

[KmH]

The tunnels connect NY and NJ.
NJ transit & Amtrak use the tunnels.
They both have prevented projects from going forward by backing out of funding commitments, as noted in the article I linked to.

Sandy happened October 2012.

Vision 3: In 2009, New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine put together a fully funded $8.7 billion project for new tunnels—Access to the Region’s Core, or the biblical-sounding ARC. But in a case of extreme political myopia, Corzine’s successor, the White House-eyeing Chris Christie, canceled the plan to keep gasoline taxes low.

Construction began in mid-2009 and the project was slated for completion in 2018, but it was cancelled in October 2010 by Governor Chris Christie.

The federal government had agreed to provide 1/2 the funds needed for the Gateway Program, then our current, fake potus got elected and that funding was yanked from the budget because the project was deemed 'local'.

 

[waday]

the project was deemed 'local'.

According to the article, the loss of the route between Boston and DC would cost the US $100 million daily. It sounds like any impact to this route not only impacts NYC and those commuting there, it impacts the entire country. It's ridiculous that it was deemed "local".

Whenever I've been there, I can absolutely agree with the article--the only thing I want to do is leave it. When leaving via Amtrak, it's crazy when they call the platform number, and there's a mad dash from a full train of people with their luggage to get to the escalators. It's actually kind of comical. My luck is that I'm usually on the opposite side of the station from the platform.

 

[Designer]

...the project was deemed 'local'.

The implication is that you don't agree.

I guess the only way we are going to get this fixed is to raise taxes on everybody in the country to pay for the repairs.

So that people who live in New Jersey can get to their jobs in NYC.

Fair enough.

 

[SCraig]

The federal government had agreed to provide 1/2 the funds needed for the Gateway Program, then our current, fake potus got elected and that funding was yanked from the budget because the project was deemed 'local'.

Good! It is local and I'd prefer my taxes be spent on something more worthwhile than a hole under the Hudson river.

 

[KmH]

You mean as opposed to the literally uncountable other ways the feds squander tax dollars to little or no benefit to a vast majority of American citizens?

It's not local because it affects pretty much the entire northeast megalopolis, including Washington D.C.
Some 25% of US gross domestic product gets produced in the northeast - as long as those 430,000 people that go through Penn Station each work day can get to work, or home.
The feds were only on the hook for 1/2 the cost. The states (local) were covering the other 1/2.
And if the feds had been doing their job at maintaining US infrastructure over the last 50 years the situation would not be so dire.

Indeed, part of the reason there is a federal government is to help financially with large scale public transportation infrastructure projects exactly like the Gateway Program.
Note too that the National Passenger Railroad Corporation (Amtrak) is a federal government/private corporation whose ridership is continually increasing.

 

[SCraig]

You mean as opposed to the literally uncountable other ways the feds squander tax dollars to little or no benefit to a vast majority of American citizens?

No. I mean if the feds are going to subsidize something I'd prefer it to be some place that at least has the decency to adhere to federal laws as opposed to claiming themselves to be a sanctuary city/state.

It's not local because it affects pretty much the entire northeast megalopolis, including Washington D.C.
Some 25% of US gross domestic product gets produced in the northeast - as long as those 430,000 people that go through Penn Station each work day can get to work, or home.

Then let those 430,000 people a day pony up for the repairs. I personally could care less whether they are able to take the train to work or not. As far as I'm concerned they can walk back and forth.

The feds were only on the hook for 1/2 the cost. The states (local) were covering the other 1/2.
And if the feds had been doing their job at maintaining US infrastructure over the last 50 years the situation would not be so dire.

Only half the cost? What is half the cost? A billion or so? Give NYC a billion dollars and maybe 10% will actually see its way to the project.

 

[terri]

Too many comments dragging politics and/or personal political views into a section of TPF where this isn't allowed.

Let that go so the thread can stay open. Thanks!