WASHINGTON – New York Sens. Chuck Schumer and Hillary Rodham Clinton are joining forces with their New Jersey colleagues to lobby the Bush administration for a new $6 billion commuter rail tunnel under the Hudson – a key component for the rebirth of Ground Zero.
Their united front comes after sources told The Post that the tunnel had been a major hang-up between New York and New Jersey officials in reaching a deal to redevelop the World Trade Center site.
New Jersey officials finally cleared the way for an agreement by relenting on their demands for the rail link, prompting the lawmakers to pick up the ball.
In a letter sent yesterday to U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta, the senators argued the new rail tunnel is needed to ease the bottleneck on the existing two-line tunnel.
“Expanding transportation capacity for our region is essential as traffic increases in the New York and New Jersey areas,” Clinton said.
The Democratic senators say enlisting the Bush administration’s support is necessary to secure funding for the mammoth project.