An act relating to easing the commute into New York City for New Jersey commuters by building a third tunnel.
Section I: Pending approval from the New York State legislature, a transportation committee will be created, that will be compromised of members of the New Jersey Department of Transportation and the New York department of Transportation. The members of the new board will receive negligible pay increases. The proposed committee will have control over the building of the tunnel. They will designate the entrance points from both states respectively.
Section II: Once the committee is formed, they will find an acceptable place to build the tunnel. The tunnel will be large enough to support 80,000-100,000 motorists a day. This number will allow room for growth in the number of commuters (this number leaves room for an increase in the population of the state).
Section III: The built tunnel will be financed by the EZ-pass or toll system. The charge for traveling through the tunnel will be determined by the committee. The current tunnels cost $8 for entrance into the city and $0 when leaving the city, so the estimated price will be around that.
Section IV: The tunnel must be made to accommodate light rail and/or NJ transit. It must also be left open in the future for, if the two states decide, to transform it totally into a light rail tunnel. This will help alleviate the environmental factors that will be brought on by another tunnel.
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| Statement of Intent: The purpose of this Bill is to make New York City more accessible for those who travel via car. The bill, however, has secondary intentions. It will reduce C02 emissions by keeping traffic at a steady flow, as opposed to having car idling outside the entrances of the two already existing tunnels. Lastly, once the cost of the project is paid off by accrued tolls (about five years), the state will be able to use the funds to raise itself out of its massive debt.
Effective Date: This Bill shall take effect immediately after the two state legislatures pass the bill.
Financial Statement: The cost of this project will be further determined by the committee. The project cost of the project for New Jersey is $1 to $2 billion dollars. A portion of this money will funded by the $7.8 billion in stimulus money, and the rest will be paid for over the years by the accrued tolls. Estimated payoff time with the tolls is five years.
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* Primary Sponsor |
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