When The Tunnels Break

Plenty of transit nerds had problems with the tunnel project that Christie cancelled, though not for the fake reasons Christie cancelled it. But they all had a naive sense that some other better project would just magically appear in time. That hasn't yet been the case. These things take forever to plan, let alone fund and build.

A top transportation official from the Obama administration pleaded with transportation officials from throughout the metropolitan area to pull together on a plan to build new rail tunnels under the Hudson River before it is too late. The existing tunnels — the only rail links between the city and New Jersey — are 105 years old and in urgent need of an overhaul.

The White House ranks the proposal, known as the Gateway project, as the most important planned piece of rail infrastructure in the country, said Peter M. Rogoff, an under secretary in the federal Transportation Department. He said the Obama administration was “eager, if not anxious,” to reach an agreement on how to pay for the project, which is expected to cost at least $8 billion.