In the address, the Mayor said, "Today I am announcing that the City of New York will complete the job the Port Authority was supposed to do 76 years ago. We are committing the necessary resources to determine where to build a freight rail tunnel between New York and New Jersey. And we are committing the necessary resources to determine where to locate a port to go with it."

Before Tuesday, revival of rail cargo access east of the Hudson had been championed in this decade by Congressman Jerrold Nadler, who argues that the decline of the shipping industry has undermined New York City's economic foundations, and that NYC's status as the nation's most truck-dependent big city in the country has increased the cost of doing business, raised infrastructure costs and hurt the quality of life. The cross-harbor rail tunnel could connect deep water parts of the harbor -- which could be redeveloped into intermodal port facilities -- to major railroad lines west of the Hudson and the harbor (these issues are described at some length in Mobilizing the Region #109 -- Dec. 20). New York City estimates that the rail tunnel could save up to 870,000 cross-Hudson truck trips annually.

The Mayor's proposal was based on studies of the issues carried out over the past few years by the NYC Economic Development Corporation (EDC). Nadler and the Mayor worked to initiate the analyses. Nadler and Senator Daniel Moynihan attended the speech -- both were acknowledged by the Mayor for their help securing federal financing for projects important to the city.

In news reports on Wednesday, Governor Pataki's response to the proposal was indeed one of caution over funding such a large project. In fairness, it appears he was asked about the project on the run and without a chance to examine it at any length. The EDC studies outline several financing options for the project, including government financing and user-fees.

One possible source of government funding would be the transfer of resources slated for highway widening projects in New York State's capital budget. Routes that could see considerable relief from truck traffic if the rail tunnel is built include the Staten Island Expressway, the Cross-Bronx Expressway and the NYC portion of the Long Island Expressway, all of which are being considered for expansion by the State DOT. At the very least, studies for expanding these roads need to include the development of the rail tunnel and the diversion of truck traffic in planning scenarios to see whether their expansion alongside the rail turnnel would be redundant. This would take place automatically if transportation planning functioned at all in the downstate NY region, but it will probably only happen via concerted pressure on highway planners. Hopefully, the Mayor and Governor, cognizant of finite resources, will take the next step and move the funds for new capacity where it makes the most sense -- rail projects.

NJ freight interests contacted about the Mayor's proposal by the Star Ledger were quick to pour cold water on the freight tunnel and port ideas, citing excess port capacity on the NJ side of the harbor, the cost of developing a modern intermodal port and small cargo volumes presently trucked east from the NJ port.