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Capital Program Documents
Proposed Changes
The files listed below are in Portable Document Format (PDF). You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view the files, which is available at our
state Adobe Access page.
Limited rail capacity underneath the Hudson River and at Penn Station New York has been recognized as a significant barrier to promoting and
sustaining future economic growth for the New York metropolitan region. The Access to the Region’s Core (ARC) program includes two new
single-track railroad tunnels between New Jersey and New York, a new rail station under 34th Street in Manhattan adjacent to Penn Station, and
signal and track improvements along and adjacent to the Northeast Corridor. This program has been documented as New Jersey highest priority
transportation project in the NJTPA’s Regional Transportation Plan and the New Jersey’s Transportation Choices 2030 long range plan.
The ARC tunnel project is estimated projected to cost $7.5 billion. Construction is expected to start in 2009 and conclude in 2016 at the
earliest.
In order to insure timely project delivery, New Jersey is proposing that it redirect $1 billion in federal highway formula funds over the next 10
years to the ARC project. In order to obtain federal funds for new rail projects like the tunnel, states must undergo a rigorous “new start”
process. Advancement of the project is contingent on demonstrating a “local contribution” of funds which the federal government must consider to
be “committed.” In New Jersey’s case, funds from the state Transportation Trust Fund cannot be considered “committed” because the TTF will expire
in 2011. However, the federal government will permit the advancement of federal funds as a local match beyond the life of the current SAFETEA-LU
Act.
New Jersey’s financial plan recommends that in exchange for the use of federal highway funds on the ARC project an equal amount of funds from the
state’s Transportation Trust Fund normally allocated to NJ TRANSIT for capital improvements will be redirected to NJDOT for programming on highway
projects.
To facilitate the proposed funding swap, the NJDOT and NJ TRANSIT must amend its Draft FY08-FY12 State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) to
reflect the funding changes. The pages attached display the proposed funding changes which will be considered by the state’s three Metropolitan
Planning Organizations, FHWA and FTA as part of the annual STIP approval process.
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