Table of Contents Albany Slams Industry Port Authority Looks to Revolutionize Mass Transit Spitzer: Invest in New Energy Now 2005 George A. Fox Public Service Award Presented to Susan L. Hayes 2005 Publications Update U.N. Expansion Plan Imperiled

The Port Authority of New York & New Jersey is working on two multi-billion dollar rail projects – a JFK rail link to Lower Manhattan and Access to the Region’s Core (ARC) – which, if realized, “will revolutionize mass transit in this region,” Executive Director Kenneth J. Ringler Jr. told attendees at a June forum, co-sponsored by the New York Building Congress and New York Construction.

The $5 billion ARC initiative would create a new rail tunnel to complement New Jersey’s mass transit infrastructure leading into New York’s Penn Station. 

“This tunnel will provide relief for the hundreds of thousands of workers who commute across the Hudson River every day,” said Ringler. In addition to creating thousands of jobs, the project will help ease traffic delays at the George Washington Bridge, and Lincoln and Holland Tunnels, Ringler added.

The $6 billion rail link, which would provide JFK Airport travelers with a 36-minute, one-seat ride from Lower Manhattan and cut travel time for up to100,000 Long Island commuters by 15 minutes, is currently in the environmental review process. The Port Authority has already committed $560 million and is considering additional investments of up to $1 billion. Other funding sources include the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the federal government.

The Port Authority expects to spend $1.7 billion on capital projects this year. Among the multi-year projects outlined by Ringler are a modernization of the Goethals Bridge, a $350 million upgrade of Staten Island’s Howland Hook terminal, an $809 million program to modernize trains and signal infrastructure, and major capital improvements at all three regional airports.