The passage of this joint legislation puts the Gateway project over a critical hurdle in moving forward.

The following can be attributed to Jerry Zaro, Chairman, Anthony R. Coscia, Vice-Chairman, and Steven M. Cohen, New York Trustee of the Gateway Program Development Corporation.

"The Gateway Program Development Corporation (GDC) thanks Govs. Phil Murphy and Andrew Cuomo, the legislative leaders and members in New Jersey and New York, as well as GDC and partner staff, for their hard work in passing the bi-state Gateway Development Commission Act.

Making GDC a bi-state commission will allow us to meet our mission of delivering Gateway and finally replacing a century old, failing, one-track-in, one-track-out rail system with modern, reliable, 21st century infrastructure to serve hundreds of thousands of daily riders and 20 percent of the nation's GDP.

The passage of this joint legislation puts us over a critical hurdle in moving forward with the Gateway project and should once again alleviate any concerns raised by our federal partners. It's clear that New York, New Jersey and Amtrak stand ready to get these projects done.

Most vitally, the legislation will make GDC an eligible recipient for the Federal, State and local grants needed to fund our projects. In addition, it advances GDC's role as an entity solely dedicated to overseeing the delivery of the Gateway Program and amplifying the active role of our partners in New York, New Jersey, Amtrak, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and New Jersey Transit. Last, the legislation makes crystal clear the commitment of both states to funding and delivering Gateway. There simply is no room to argue that our states don't have real skin in the game.

During the coming period, as Commissioners are nominated and approved and the bi-state Commission is stood up to meet the language of the legislation, the Gateway Program Development Corporation will continue to coordinate and guide the work of our project partners, and the current project sponsors the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey for the Hudson Tunnel Project and NJ Transit for the Portal North Bridge Project, will continue advancing these projects to ensure we do all we can to move Gateway forward as quickly as possible."

Today's top stories

Buffalo Looks to Improve, Protect Ralph Wilson Park

VIDEO: New App Increases Speed, Accuracy of Checking Grade Stakes

Make Eliminating Jobsite Distractions Company Safety Goal

Reconstruction of Frank J. Wood Bridge in Maine Under Way

Webuild Ready to Rebuild Collapsed Baltimore Bridge

VIDEO: Komatsu Holds Demo Days at Cartersville Customer Center

ABC: Over Half of March State Construction Unemployment Rates Down From a Year Ago

Topcon Expands Retail Presence With New Topcon Solutions Store in Spokane, Washington