Federal funds for the critical Gateway Tunnel rail project remain frozen after U.S. District Judge Jeannette A. Vargas on Monday paused her Feb. 6 decision pending the Justice Department’s appeal to a higher court — issuing the order minutes before the feds would have had to disperse up to $200 million to the project.
Vargas had ruled Friday that the Trump administration had to temporarily disperse funds it had withheld from the Gateway rail tunnel project. Work on the Gateway Tunnel — a $16 billion endeavor to build two new train tubes for Amtrak and NJ Transit service across the Hudson River — halted on Friday and will remain paused until the funds are released, officials with the Gateway Development Commission overseeing the project said on Monday.
