Biden signs infrastructure bill with billions for N.J. roads and funding for Gateway Tunnel – NJ.com

President Joe Biden on Monday signed a $1 trillion infrastructure bill that includes at least $13.5 billion for transportation projects in New Jersey and provides federal funding to build for the long-awaited Gateway Tunnel under the Hudson River.

Biden signed the bill at the White House, joined by around 800 guests, including lawmakers from both houses and both parties. Among them were Reps. Josh Gottheimer, D-5th Dist., Frank Pallone Jr., D-6th Dist., and Tom Malinowski, D-7th Dist.

“My message to the American people is: America is moving again,” Biden said on the South Lawn on a sunny and windy day. “And your life is going to change for the better.”

The legislation includes billions of dollars in accounts that can be tapped to help fund the Gateway train tunnel which will connect New Jersey and New York, eventually allowing for the existing tubes to be closed to repair damage caused by Hurricane Sandy.

Gov. Phil Murphy said he had been invited to attend the event but said he couldn’t get down to Washington because of other demands. At his weekly coronavirus briefing Monday, he called the bill “a game changer for the country but I think in particular for us,” the nation’s most densely populated state.

Murphy noted how the bill passed with both Republican and Democratic votes. The entire New Jersey congressional delegation supported it, including Reps. Jeff Van Drew, R-2nd Dist., and Chris Smith, R-4th Dist.

“Instead of threatening to kill people or whatever these people are doing, they should be thankful there was common ground that was found here,” Murphy said.

Based on existing formulas, New Jersey will receive around $8 billion for roads and bridges in the state.

State Transportation Commissioner Diane Gutierrez-Scaccetti said some of the projects could get underway within months.

“We’ll work in the next six months to launch work,” she said at a Monday morning press conference at the Bloomfield train station. “It won’t be easy, but we’ve been ready for years.”

And Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo Jr. said: “We’re ready to go as soon as they give us the money.”

The new law also includes $4.1 billion for mass transit in the state. Kevin Corbett, chief executive and president of New Jersey Transit, said the funds will allow the public transportation agency to raise the platforms at the Bloomfield station to allow people with disabilities to board the trains there.

“This will bring us into being a first class transit agency; it puts an end to the transit ‘Hunger Games’” he said. “This station is on the list. I hope the next press conference (here) will be a groundbreaking.”

In signing the bill, Biden was able enact the infrastructure legislation that eluded his predecessor, Donald Trump, who attacked Republicans who supported it.

“For too long, we’ve talked about having the best economy in the world,” Biden said. ”We’ve talked about asserting American leadership around the world with the best and safest roads, railways, ports, airports. Here in Washington, we’ve heard countless speeches, promises, and white papers from experts.

“But today, we’re finally getting this done.”

Also in the legislation is funding to replace all lead water lines, build a network of electric vehicle charging stations, and expand Amtrak routes through the state to Allentown, Easton and Scranton.

“We’ve had countless press conferences calling for infrastructure spending,” U.S. Sen. Cory Booker said in Bloomfield. “Now we are finally delivering.”

There also is at least $100 million to expand high-speed internet connections to least 115,468 residents in the state, plus funding to subsidize online access for 1.6 million low-income New Jerseyans, according to the White House.

“Not every child could connect to their classroom and not every employee had the ability to work from home, after this bill, they will,” U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez said in Bloomfield. “Broadband is a must-have.”

The legislation was the second major spending measure enacted by the Democratic-controlled Congress this year. In March, Biden signed a $1.9 trillion coronavirus stimulus bill, passed over unanimous Republican opposition, that provided direct payments of $1,400 to most Americans and $10.2 billion for New Jersey and its municipalities.

A third bill, which would spend around $1.75 trillion to expand child care and health coverage and fight climate change, is scheduled for a vote in the House later this week, according to Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. That legislation still needs Senate approval.

Rep. Donald Norcross, D-1st Dist., said the delays in passing the infrastructure bill won’t matter going forward.

“People don’t care about the process,” Norcross said. “They just care about the results. Tell me how I’m going to get to work. Tell me I can get to a job because I can put my kid in day care.”

NJ Advance Media Trenton Bureau reporter Brent Johnson contributed to this report.

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Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him at @JDSalant.

Larry Higgs may be reached at lhiggs@njadvancemedia.com.

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