New train tunnels have long been needed to facilitate commutes from New Jersey into New York City’s Pennsylvania Station. Considered one of the most important and ambituous transportation projects in the country, plans and funding deals have been in the works for 20 years. Now, governors in both states say the real deal is here.
Agreement: Split The Bill
The current governors of New York and New Jersey have announced their commitment to evenly split the $14 billion required to get phase one of the “Gateway” project going. As The New York Times reports:
While the actual digging of the tunnels is still at least more than a year away, the announcement on Tuesday was a sign that Gateway might finally be moving forward. The project’s planners are racing to lock up federal funding while they have support….Before the federal government could agree to pay half or more of the cost, the two states had to come to an understanding about splitting the local share. The states did not specify how they planned to pay for their portions, but New Jersey has previously said that it would raise some of its share by issuing bonds.
Of course there’s lots more to think about all across the New York metropolitan area, where transit projects of all kinds are high on everyone’s wish lists. For example, it’s anticipated that federal funding will advance the extension of Manhattan’s Second Avenue subway line (aka the Q Train). Other projects lined up for funding and action include:
- Repair of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway which is “crumbling under the weight of more then 150,000 vehicles a day.”
- As many as 60 bridge projects in New Jersey, home to some of the busiest highways in the country.
- Attention to the Metro-North passenger line, including the crucial—and 120 year old—Walk Bridge in Norwalk, Connecticut.
- Acceleration of a shift to electric buses by New Jersey Transits, as well as replacement of old school buses which generate harmful emissions.
While the list—and wait— goes on, chances are some public works are already green lit in your region. Ports are building. So are schools, parks and healthcare facilities. New public contracts of course mean it’s time for surety bonds. Let’s speed things up: qualify for The Partnership Account® for Contractors from Colonial Surety and you’ll have a powerful online surety management system enabling you to issue your own bid bonds, order performance and payment bonds, run management reports, check your current and aggregate limits, view your underwriting profile—and more.
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Lots To Consider
Given the disruption of office and commute routines brought on by COVID, it’s certainly worth wondering what exactly “regular commuting” will look like down the road. Will weekday crowds return? Who pays if they do? Who pays if they don’t? As The New York Times explains, we’re not the only ones wondering: “One complication in reaching cost-sharing agreements has been that the primary users of the tunnels will be New Jersey residents who commute to New York City to work. They ride New Jersey Transit, whose trains were jam-packed before the pandemic. Transit planners expect even more demand for commuting across the Hudson in the coming decades. Still, New Jersey Transit has carried far fewer riders in the last two years as many workers have stayed away from their offices.”
Probably best not to center your company’s growth plan on digging under the Hudson River just yet, right? However, the libraries, schools, parks and highways in your area are likely getting attention even at this very moment. Colonial Surety’s here to help you speed up the process of obtaining the bid, performance and payment bonds you need for public works. We are a direct writer and we underwrite construction companies based on the power of their financial statements, giving qualified builders power of attorney to issue their own bid bonds. Get going with the pre-qualification for The Partnership Account® services today—and receive, for free, Dun & Bradstreet scores.
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Founded in 1930, Colonial Surety Company is a leading direct seller and writer of surety bonds and insurance products across the USA. Colonial is rated “A Excellent” by A.M. Best Company and U.S. Treasury listed.