Biden Would Finally Get the Gateway Project Moving, Advocates Say

"A win by Democratic candidate Joe Biden in the presidential election might create a smoother path toward completing proposed upgrades to a 110-year-old tunnel linking Manhattan and northern New Jersey that have hit roadblocks under President Trump," writes Andrew Coen.

Coen cites numerous advocates to provide evidence for this claim, while also providing the history of the Gateway Program during the Trump administration. Coen cites Brian Fritsch, a manager of advocacy campaigns at the Regional Plan Association, for insight into how a Biden presidency might change the fate of the program.

Brian Fritsch, a manager of advocacy campaigns at the Regional Plan Association, said Biden has given strong indications he would support advancing the project in his infrastructure plan unveiled this year, which calls for increased investment in transit, roads and bridges. Having been vice president when the original federal funding agreement for Gateway was crafted would also bode well for Biden greenlighting the project, he added.

Another expert cited in the article, Regina Egea, president of the conservative-leaning Garden State Initiative, makes the case that New Jersey could contribute to the program by advancing—with or without the federal government—a $1.5 billion project to replace the Portal Bridge, which crosses the Hackensack River and connects to the Hudson River tunnel.