Government shutdown puts vital Northeast tunnel project in peril

Government shutdown puts vital Northeast tunnel project in peril — again

How long the Trump administration will withhold money and what it means for the Gateway tunnel linking New York and New Jersey is unclear.

On Wednesday, the future of the $16 billion train tunnel between New York and New Jersey was thrown into chaos, with thousands of construction jobs and the fate of commuters across the Northeast hanging in the balance.

Carlo Scissura, the head of the New York Building Congress, said he doesn’t expect any immediate effect on either project, but he’s not sure what the short- or long-term effect could be.

“Here’s where it gets dicey when you talk construction,” he said in an interview. “If firms are eventually told this money is in jeopardy, then eventually they have to make decisions on whether they are still hiring people, are they still ordering materials — then it opens up the floodgates.”