Gateway Tunnel Project construction will stop if President Trump continues to withhold funds, officials say

Construction on the critical Gateway Tunnel Project linking New York and New Jersey will be halted if President Trump continues to withhold funding, officials said Tuesday.

The Gateway Development Commission announced that money for the project, which is designed to replace and expand the aging rail tunnels damaged by Hurricane Sandy, will run out on Feb. 6.

Pausing construction will result in thousands of layoffs and billions in economic activity lost, officials said. There is also the risk of travel delays on one of the most heavily used passenger rail lines in the country, according to officials.

"Today's announcement by the Gateway Development Commission is just the latest collateral damage of Donald Trump's vindictive quest to hurt New Yorkers no matter the cost. The stakes are enormous: hundreds of thousands of daily commuters, 10,000 union jobs and billions of dollars in economic benefits all now imperiled by Donald Trump's attempts to rip away infrastructure funding from New York," New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a statement. "Make no mistake, the Gateway Tunnel is vital to the economy of this state and the entire region, and I will fight like hell to ensure it gets built."

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer urged Trump to restore funding.

"There's only one way in and one way out of Penn Station under the Hudson for train traffic. If that connection, which carries hundreds of thousands of Amtrak and NJ Transit and LIRR commuters every single day, would be reduced or even halted completely for longer than just a few days, the consequences would be immense," Schumer said.  

"The most urgent and consequential infrastructure project"

New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill called it "the most urgent and consequential infrastructure project in the country."

Sherrill said the consequences will be significant if Mr. Trump doesn't restore funding.

"He will single-handedly kill nearly 100,000 jobs and $20 billion in economic activity," she said.

The Gateway Development Commission said pausing construction will result in nearly 1,000 jobs being lost. An extended pause would put more than 95,000 jobs and $19.6 billion in economic activity at risk, according to officials.

"It also increases the risk that the 116-year-old North River Tunnel – already a leading cause of delays that impact hundreds of thousands of riders – will shut down," a statement read. 

Trump terminated funding in October but construction continues

Billions of dollars were secured in 2024 to replace the decades-old tunnel.

In October, the president said he was going to terminate funding for the project. His announcement came just two weeks after federal funding for the crucial infrastructure was suspended at the start of the government shutdown.

"I mean, the project in Manhattan, the project in New York. It's billions and billions of dollars that [Sen. Chuck] Schumer has worked 20 years to get. It's terminated. Tell him it's terminated," Mr. Trump previously said.

Schumer said this is more than "petty politics" as he pushed the president to resume funding.

"We can either repair the tunnels now as an example of a forward-thinking investment, or we can repair them on an emergency basis after they are not usable in the wake of a historic crisis, which would raise the stakes and the cost of this project in many ways," Schumer said.