Gov. Christie: Portal Bridge Replacement Is The Vital First Step To Getting Gateway Project Done

Transcript:

Governor Christie: We’ve all talked about this bridge, what it does, what it doesn’t do, and what we need the new bridge to do. The more important part of all of this is to understand how vital this first step is, with us making the commitment that we are going to put our resources forward to be able to get this Portal Bridge done. I’ve explained to both President Obama and now President Trump that the Gateway Tunnel without the Portal Bridge is a useless exercise. That the Portal Bridge is a vital part of making the entire project work the way it’s supposed to work and today, we’re getting that first and important, indispensable part of this project going now because of the commitment of both New York and New Jersey, our federal partners, and our partners at the Port Authority. Also, I was heartened to hear the remarks of Chairman Coscia. This is a project that will work for the people of New Jersey, New York, and this region because it is a project that will lead them to Penn Station. There is no alternative to do this type of work and to spend this type of money if we are not going to lead folks to wither their destination at Penn Station in New Yok or their next train to take them where they need to go, which will come out of Penn Station in New York. And Rich Bagger, when he was my Chief of Staff, and I fought hard to make sure that Penn Station would be the destination for any new tunnels that spent tens of billions of dollars to be built of federal and state tax money had to be something that was going to work for commuters. Work for commuters that come from Washington to New York and Boston, work for commuters who come from New Jersey to New York City each and every day. I agree with both senators, this is a project that is integral to the economy of this region and as a result, the economy of the country. But I have always believed that some project is not better than the right project. Sometimes you have to fight hard and take the abuse that comes along with it, to fight for the right project. That is what I’ve been doing for the last eight years. To our friends in the labor community, this is just another example of how our partnership with you continues to create jobs for the working men and women of the middle class of this region and there is nothing more important than having those folks at work, having them provide for their families and having them have the dignity every day of a job that not only pays them a living wage, but also knowing that their doing something that’s extraordinarily important to their fellow citizens.