The US government has approved a US$6.88bn (£5.4bn) federal grant for New York’s Hudson River Tunnel, meaning the project is moving “full steam ahead”, New Jersey’s governor has said. The New York Times reported that on Tuesday last week (11 June), federal government officials announced to congress that they would provide an additional US$6.88bn (£5.4bn) toward the US$16bn (£12.6bn) project. It is reportedly the largest federal grant for a mass transit project in US history.
The money will go towards funding a new 3.8km long twin tube railway tunnel under the Hudson River that will carry passenger trains between New Jersey and New York. The new route will be close to the existing North River Tunnel, which was built in 1910 but suffered damage during Hurricane Sandy in 2012.