Construction on the massive $16 billion Hudson Tunnel Project will resume next week after the Trump administration on Wednesday released $127 million in frozen funding, New York Governor Kathy Hochul said.<\/p>\n
New York and New Jersey sued after the U.S. Department of Transportation had withheld $205 million in funding for the project since October 1. The funding freeze triggered a halt to construction on February 6 that put 1,000 workers out of work.<\/p>\n
The Hudson Tunnel Project aims to build a new commuter rail tunnel connecting Manhattan and New Jersey and repair a century-old tunnel used by more than 200,000 travelers and 425 trains daily.<\/p>\n
\u201cA major win for workers and commuters,\u201d Hochul said on social media. \u201cWe\u2019ll keep fighting to ensure the federal government meets its commitments.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Department of Transportation did not immediately comment on Wednesday whether it plans to withhold future funds for the project.<\/p>\n
The Trump administration asked Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., for the Washington region\u2019s Dulles International Airport and New York\u2019s Penn Station to be named after President Donald Trump in exchange for releasing the funds, NBC News previously reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n Schumer called the release of the funding “a huge win for New York, New Jersey, hundreds of thousands of commuters, thousands of union workers, and the economy of the entire region.”<\/p>\n “We have secured all of December\u2019s funding and even part of January\u2019s ahead of schedule. Workers will be back on the job very soon andGatewayis back on track,\u201d he said in a news release.<\/p>\n