By Larry Higgs | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
on November 25, 2015 at 7:43 AM, updated November 25, 2015 at 2:09 PM
One of the nation’s leading financial rating agencies has weighed in on the Gateway Tunnel project, deeming it necessary to the regional economy and joined others who’ve suggested charging riders to help fund the project.
Two experts have suggested charging a user fee to commuters and travelers who make between 73 million and 100 million trips a year through the 105-year old tubes under the Hudson River between New York and New Jersey. Moody’s said this one possibility that could be used.
“A user fee, similar to U.S. airports passenger facility charge could generate $330 million annually for financing,” Moody’s wrote in an analysis of the Gateway project released on Tuesday. Airport passengers typically pay a $4.50 fee, the analysis said.
Phil Beachem, executive director of the N.J. Alliance for Action, proposed a user fee of $1 or $2 per trip on top of regular train fares. Jonathan Peters, a finance professor at SUNY College of Staten Island, who specializes in toll road and transportation financing has all suggested a user fee.
Moody’s didn’t question the economic need for constructing new tunnels before one of the existing 105-year old tunnels has to be closed to repair damage from Hurricane Sandy flooding.
“While the tunnel will add significant cost to a region already paying for significant infrastructure investments, it provides a vital commuter link for a regional economy with a $1.4 trillion Gross Domestic project,” Moody’s said in the analysis.
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