ASSEMBLY RESOLUTION No. 170

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

INTRODUCED JUNE 23, 1997

By Assemblymen BAGGER and AUGUSTINE

An Assembly Resolution memorializing Congress to provide funding for the Trans-Hudson/Midtown Corridor Management/ Project Development Initiative.

Whereas, There is a need to expand the intermodal transportation network which connects the western half of the New York-New Jersey metropolitan area with the region's commercial core; and

Whereas, The first phase of a study on the Trans-Hudson initiative, sponsored by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority of New York, and the New Jersey Transit Corporation, evaluated 15 alternatives that would expand the region's transportation system; and

Whereas, The evaluation of the 15 alternatives found that commuter rail alternatives which provide a one-seat ride from northern New Jersey and from Rockland and Orange counties in New York to midtown Manhattan would be the most cost effective; and

Whereas, The second phase of the study on this initiative is now underway, focusing on the most promising alternative -- a commuter rail option, including a new Hudson River rail passenger tunnel, expansion of Penn Station New York, and a link between Penn Station New York, Grand Central Terminal and the Secaucus Loop; and

Whereas, The next stage of project development requires $5 million for: (1) computer simulation of commuter rail operations in the high volume transit corridor connecting the Secaucus Transfer Station in New Jersey and Sunnyside Yards in the Borough of Queens, New York; (2) the preliminary design of the Access to the Region's Core project -- a major component of the initiative; (3) an analysis of the expansion of the Northeast Corridor rail capacity west of the Secaucus Transfer Station to Harrison, New Jersey; and (4) an analysis of options for the financial and institutional arrangements needed to design, build and operate the proposed new facilities; now, therefore,

    Be It Resolved by the General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

    1. The Congress of the United States is memorialized to provide $5 million in federal funds for the next stage of project development, as noted hereinabove, for the Trans-Hudson/Midtown Corridor Management/ Project Development Initiative.

    2. Authenticated copies of this resolution, signed by the Speaker of the General Assembly and attested by the Clerk thereof, shall be transmitted to the Vice President of the United States, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, the majority and minority leaders of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives, every member of Congress elected from this State and the State of New York, the Governor of this State and the Governor of the State of New York, and the executive directors and the members of the boards of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority of New York, and the New Jersey Transit Corporation.

STATEMENT

    This resolution calls upon the Congress of the United States to provide $5 million in federal funds for the next stage of project development for the Trans-Hudson/Midtown Corridor Management/ Project Development Initiative. The initial study work on this initiative has been sponsored by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority of New York, and the New Jersey Transit Corporation.

    However, funding is now required for certain computer simulation activities, the preliminary design of the Access to the Region's Core project -- a major component of the initiative, an analysis of the expansion of the Northeast Corridor rail capacity to Harrison, New Jersey, and an analysis of the financial and institutional arrangements needed to design, build and operate the new facilities.

Memorializes Congress to provide $5 million in federal funds for further project development of Trans-Hudson/Midtown Corridor Management/ Project Development Initiative.