The Hudson Tunnel Project has received US$30m of the federal funds stopped by the Trump administration, but construction remains on hold.
“We have received an initial disbursement of US$30m from the federal government and expect to receive the full US$205m in reimbursement funds,” the Gateway Development Commission (GDC) said in a statement.
“Construction remains paused for now, and we are working with our contractors to plan how to deploy these funds in the most effective way and get workers back on the job to resume some construction as soon as possible.”
New York governor Kathy Hochul called on the federal government to end the “chaos and delays”.
“Get people back to work. Today we made progress. US$30m has finally been released, and a court-ordered report will force transparency on the remaining funds. But the job isn’t done. Full funding must be restored now,” she said.
Hochul added she would not accept “threats or phony details when the law is clear. We’re ready to build. Let us get to work”.
The federal government froze funding for the railway project in October last year and work on construction sites was halted on February 6. In response to a breach of contract claim filed by the GDC, a US District Court judge ruled that the Trump administration’s actions were “plainly illegal” and ordered the funds to be released.
