Brooklyn's Progress
June 2004

Capping off six years of intensive study, the NYC Economic Development Corporation released the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) on May 7 for the construction of the Cross Harbor Rail Freight Tunnel. The study found that building the tunnel between New Jersey and Brooklyn would reduce congestion caused by truck traffic on the region’s roads and bridges, improve air quality, and improve the region’s capacity for economic growth.

“The New York metropolitan area faces continued gridlock, air pollution and a cap on economic growth if we do not get a handle on goods movement in the region,” said Constantine Sidamon-Eristoff, managing director of the East of Hudson Rail Freight Operations Task Force. “The Cross Harbor Tunnel will get trucks off the road and will allow our region to handle the enormous increase in goods movement that we face in the future.”

Richard Ravitch, former Chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority added, “this study makes it clear – we need to build the tunnel in order to get a million trucks off the road and get our region moving again.” 

The DEIS evaluates several alternatives, and concludes that the best way to address longstanding freight movement problems throughout the region is by constructing a 5.5-mile rail tunnel connecting freight rail lines in New Jersey to Brooklyn. The Cross Harbor Rail Freight Tunnel would expand the rail freight network east of the Hudson River by extending lines throughout the New York metropolitan area into Long Island, the southern tier of Connecticut, and upstate New York.

An Emerging Consensus

The DEIS is part of an emerging consensus about the critical role that efficient goods movement plays in ensuring the future health of the entire New York Metropolitan Area. In December 2003 the United States General Accounting Office (GAO) released a study documenting the crucial role that rail freight will play in cities such as New York, and the need to improve the access of freight projects to existing funding sources.

Following the GAO study, Environmental Defense and the East of Hudson Rail Freight Operations Task Force released a report on March 30, 2004 that recommended investing in rail freight to get trucks off the roads. The full report is available at www.environmentaldefense.org/go/railfreight.

According to Jon Orcutt, Executive Director of the Tri-State Transportation Campaign, “the region's roads cannot absorb the expected 79 percent increase in freight traffic over the next 20 years.  What we accomplish on the rails will directly affect road conditions -- moving more by rail means less gridlock, safer driving, less road damage by trucks and thus less public spending for highway and bridge repair."  

Study Findings

Specifically, the DEIS found that construction of the tunnel and related capital improvements would result in:

Annual economic benefits of up to $1,645 million as a result of a more efficient goods movement system throughout the New York metropolitan region, as well as the creation of some 30,000 jobs;

Substantial improvements to the region’s air quality by diverting up to 15 million annual tons of freight from trucks to less polluting modes of transport; and

Increased road safety by reducing up to 62 million annual freight truck vehicle miles traveled (VMT), including truck trips over the Hudson River Bridge crossing;

The study includes a project Cost/Benefit Ratio of between 1.9 and 2.2, which is one of the highest cost-benefit ratios of any transportation infrastructure project in the region.

“The Cross Harbor Freight Rail tunnel, coupled with other major improvements in the region's freight rail system, will improve the region's air quality by reducing highway congestion and truck emissions," commented James T. B. Tripp, general counsel of Environmental Defense. "Since trucks are contributing more and more to this congestion, freight rail investments will have pronounced environmental and public health, as well as economic, benefits for the region. By taking into account the findings of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement and input from local communities, this project can enhance the long-term health and transportation efficiency of the region."

Funding the Tunnel

The DEIS comes as Congress continues to consider reauthorization of a major six-year transportation spending bill, the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century ("TEA 21" or "TEA 3").

With a price tag of between $4 and $7 billion, advocates from the business, labor, environmental, community and urban planning sectors in New York and New Jersey are urging Congress to include an additional and separate national funding stream for rail freight infrastructure projects in the legislation.

Long Island business and community leaders also recognize the dangers of regional roadway congestion. Mitchell Pally, Vice-President of the Long Island Association stated, “All of us are optimistic that Congress will recognize the importance of investing in rail freight infrastructure projects such as the Cross Harbor Tunnel, as it is most certainly a matter of regional and national significance.”

Legislation that passed the House on April 2, 2004 allocated $6.6 billion for Projects of National Significance.  The bill includes language that designates freight rail projects like the Cross-Harbor tunnel as candidates for that dedicated funding stream, and is being considered by a conference committee.
 
Brooklyn Chamber President Kenneth Adams submitted testimony in support of the draft DEIS that was read into the public record during the New York City Economic Development Corporation’s Brooklyn Public Hearing on May 27.