Bill Dudine, a Katten Project and Public Finance partner, was quoted in Law360 regarding the federal government's June 6 completion of the draft environmental impact statement for the highly anticipated $13 billion Hudson Tunnel Project. This is a welcome sign that officials are delivering on promises to more quickly vet crucial infrastructure projects and take years off construction timelines. The Hudson Tunnel Project is the biggest and most high-profile project in the $24 billion Gateway Program, a series of projects long intended to overhaul critical rail infrastructure and increase capacity in the New York and New Jersey region. "For any critical project, the environmental review process is costly, so moving forward with that is definitely a positive," said Bill.
Another important part of the project is the plan to transform Manhattan's aging and congested Penn Station. Regarding that, Bill stated, "The recent press and the general awareness of the problems at Penn Station can only be positive in terms of focusing the need for this critical project to move forward. It seems to me that a big component of funding is public funding [from] the DOT, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and other key participants. When you have infrastructure in critical need, and if you have real ongoing problems with basic commutes to New York, that squeaky wheel will start to squeak a lot and should get the attention of the [decision makers]." (Read "Hudson Tunnel Draft EIS Could Spur More Expedited Reviews," July 14, 2017)
New York
