Cross Harbor

The Cross Harbor Freight Movement Project is a joint Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) effort to examine the way freight is transported in the New York metropolitan region area. The study effort began in 1998 when NYCEDC commissioned a Major Investment Study (MIS) to identify and evaluate strategies for improving freight movement throughout the entire region’s rail freight network. At the conclusion of the MIS in 2000, four alternatives were identified for further analysis. In 2001, NYCEDC, in cooperation with FHWA and FRA, began work on a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) to further examine these initial alternatives, in conformance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969.

The Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) is a formal public document, which analyzes impacts to the environment associated with a proposed project or action. An EIS is a requirement of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, which requires federal agencies or projects using federal funds to undergo an environmental analysis of the proposed actions, such that careful consideration of environmental impacts be undertaken before federal actions are made.

The Cross Harbor Freight Movement Project Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) is being sponsored by the NYCEDC, in coordination with the FHWA and the FRA as joint lead agencies. The DEIS analysis determines potential impacts that identified alternatives may have in categories including Land Use, Social Conditions & Neighborhood Character; Economic Conditions; Air and Water Quality; Noise and Vibrations and Construction Impacts. Because the Cross Harbor study area varies for the different elements of the project, the study undertook a three-level analysis. The first level is local impacts, which includes analysis of the neighborhoods in the direct vicinity of the proposed tunnel portals and rail yards. The second level is area impacts, which is an assessment of potential impacts for a broader 10-county area that includes the New York City Metropolitan Area, Nassau and Suffolk County on Long Island and Essex, Hudson and Union Counties in New Jersey. The third and final level is regional impacts, which is an evaluation of potential impacts over a 30-county area that includes the entire New York City/Northern New Jersey metropolitan area.

What are the goals of the Cross Harbor Freight Movement DEIS and how are they used?

The EIS has five primary goals that respond to the regional needs identified in the previous Major Investment Study (MIS). These goals were developed as part of a public process in the MIS. The goals are designed to improve the economic strength, environmental health, and security of the New York/northern New Jersey metropolitan region. They include:

To improve the movement of goods into, out of, and through the New York/northern New Jersey metropolitan region.
To create a more modally balanced goods movement system in the region.
To improve environmental quality in the region by diverting freight movements to less polluting modes of transport.
To promote economic development in the New York/northern New Jersey metropolitanregion through a more efficient goods movement system.
To provide strategic system redundancy to the region’s vital Hudson River crossings.

Each of the proposed alternatives will be analyzed to determine how successful it is in meeting the project goals. These were the principal performance measures used to select the preferred alternative.

The freight transportation network is at a major crossroad. It relies on trucks to move the majority of goods entering the region and suffers from chronic roadway congestion throughout most of the day. As the demand for goods is expected to grow roughly 70% above existing levels by 2025, the freight system needs to be substantially upgraded to prevent traffic congestion from constraining economic growth.

NYCEDC is New York City's agency for evaluating economic development in the City. NYCEDC is contracted by the City of New York to promote rail freight use as well as oversee City-owned rail and port facilities. In that capacity, the NYCEDC manages City-owned rail freight facilities such as the 65th Street Rail Yard, the 51st Street Rail Yard, the Staten Island Railroad and rail assets within the City’s wholesale produce markets.

The DEIS has been funded with 80 percent federal funds and 20 percent New York City funds.

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) are joint lead agencies in the preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Cross Harbor Freight Movement Project. Their role is to provide regulatory and technical review of the DEIS and FEIS and ultimately issue a Record of Decision (ROD) that NEPA has been compiled with. A Steering Committee consisting of the governmental and transportation agencies also participated in providing technical guidance to this study effort.

A rail freight tunnel alternative between Brooklyn and New Jersey has been selected as the preferred alternative as it would produce the greatest benefits to the region. These benefits include greater reductions in vehicle miles traveled by trucks with decreased truck congestion growth on cross Hudson River bridges and expressways, more jobs created and greater personal income generated. The merits of a Single Tunnel System versus a Double Tunnel System will be explored further upon comment on the DEIS from agencies and the public during the NEPA review process. The proposed tunnel would connect two active freight lines, the Greenville Branch on the Jersey City side of the harbor and the Bay Ridge Branch on the Brooklyn and Queens side.

What is the estimated overall cost of the freight tunnel? Does the project cost include just the tunnel?

Construction costs for the Rail Freight Tunnel alternative range between $4.8 billion for the Single Tunnel System to $7.4 billion for the Double Tunnel System. In addition to the costs of constructing a tunnel, these estimates include the cost to construct an expanded intermodal yard at West Maspeth, Queens, enhance capacity at other existing rail yards, improve rail clearances to accommodate modern rail equipment, and construct additional rail sidings and tracks in New Jersey, Brooklyn and Queens.

There are currently no committed public or private funds to implement the tunnel project. Potential financing of the freight tunnel alternative is examined in the DEIS. A preliminary financing plan will likely draw on a variety of funding sources, including user fees for direct beneficiaries, and federal, state and local transportation grants and loans.

Future funding and other decision-making necessities will be examined by governmental entities and elected officials as we proceed with the Cross Harbor EIS process.

It is unclear now if and when the tunnel will be built, as there are currently no funds to move this project into implementation. However, if funds were to be made available to implement this project, the engineering design process is expected to take two years. Constructing all the components of the tunnel project is expected to take five years.

The New Jersey portal of the tunnel would be located within the Greenville Yards. Trains would access the portal from the Lehigh Mainline, Chemical Coast Line or the National Docks Secondary Line, all part of the national rail freight network. The Brooklyn tunnel portal would be located between 8th and 13th Avenues within the Bay Ridge Branch rail line

The tunnel segment for the alternative would be constructed using both the Immersed Tube Tunnel (ITT) method and the Bored Tunnel method.

The portion of the tunnel from the Greenville Yards shoreline in New Jersey to the end of the Northeast Auto Marine Terminal (NEAT) Pier, also in New Jersey, would be constructed using the ITT method. The ITT method consists of lowering pre-cast reinforced concrete and/or steel/concrete tunnel segments into a trench that has been excavated on the bottom of the harbor off the coast of New Jersey. Once the tunnel segments have been placed in the trench, connected and sealed, the trench is backfilled.

The portion of the tunnel from the NEAT Pier to 10th Avenue in Brooklyn will be constructed with a tunnel-boring machine. A tunnel-boring machine is a large drill that excavates a circular tunnel section without disturbing the surface of the harbor. Tunnel-boring machines are custom designed for specific geologic conditions and to meet other project requirements. As the tunnel-boring machine moves forward, the excavated rock and soil are conveyed back and concrete tunnel liners are placed to complete the tunnel. Tunnel-boring machines are powered by electricity brought to the machine by sub-stations near or along the tunnel route.

A rail freight tunnel offers great benefits in terms of supporting and sustaining economic development and diverting trucks off congested regional highways. It also produces significant environmental and economic impacts, which include improved regional air quality and an enhanced quality of life for residents and motorists who live and/or travel along the region’s major truck routes. Specifically, the freight tunnel alternative would:

Improve the movement of goods within the region by generating annual user benefits of up to $44.6 million. User benefits are a combination of savings to drivers from decreased congestion, as well as reductions in accidents, roadway maintenance costs and air pollution;
Create a more-modally balanced goods movement system by diverting up to 14.9 million tons of freight from truck to rail;
Improve the regional environmental quality by eliminating approximately 1.0 million truck trips per year on the Hudson River crossings and reducing commodity truck vehicle-miles traveled (VMT) by approximately 4.5%;
Improve regional economic development by creating up to almost 30,000 new jobs and generating $1.6 billion in personal income; and
Provide strategic system redundancy to the region’s Hudson River crossings by creating another option for crossing the Hudson River.

Anticipated impacts include noise impacts during construction and operation of the Rail Freight Tunnel alternative in residential communities and increased truck traffic in West Maspeth, Queens under the Double Tunnel System.

Moving freight by rail provides environmental and economic benefits when compared to trucks. For example, one freight train carrying 4,000 tons of freight could eliminate up to 200 trucks traveling along already congested roadways and arterials. Moving freight by rail also provides a greater cost savings to businesses than trucks. It presently costs five cents per mile to transport freight by truck. Moving freight by rail costs almost half that amount at 2.7 cents per mile.

Yes, the environmental analyses conducted as part of the EIS examines noise and traffic impacts. Below is the full list of impacts analyzed in the EIS:

Land Use, Zoning, Public Policy, Social Conditions & Neighborhood Character
Economic Conditions
Visual and Aesthetic Considerations
Historic Resources
Archeological Resources
Transportation (Effects on Rail Freight, Transit & Traffic Systems)
Air Quality
Noise and Vibration
Energy
Contaminated Materials
Water Resources

Wetland and Terrestrial Resources
Coast Zone Management

Construction and Construction Impacts
Environmental Justice
Secondary & Cumulative Impacts
Commitment of Resources
Financial Analysis

Why is it important to improve cross-harbor rail access when the East-of-Hudson region is primarily a service economy, without much of the manufacturing that traditionally supports heavy rail freight demand?

Modern freight rail service moves more than just the goods used in manufacturing industries. It is also a very efficient and competitive way to move food, consumer goods, and many of the products used in service industries. The metropolitan New York/northern New Jersey region is the largest consumer market in the country. Much of the clothing, food, paper, fuel, and other consumer goods needed to support the region’s preeminent economic status can be moved with less impact on roadway traffic, and at a lower cost, by rail. These products are commonly shipped intermodally, meaning via numerous modes and commonly by ship to the United States, railed to the closest consumption points and then trucked to its final destination. Because of the region’s limited rail freight access, much of the goods consumed by the region are trucked into the region over long distances, versus being shipped in intermodal containers by rail.

Why are improvements to the rail freight network a good way to expand the capacity of the current goods movement system?

The metropolitan New York/northern New Jersey region faces dramatic increases in goods movement, with recent forecasts predicting 70 percent growth in freight volume between 2000 and 2025. This increase in demand will place additional pressure on a roadway network that already experiences some of the worst congestion in the country. Accommodating this growth would require a massive increase in capacity on the region’s major Hudson River crossings, and the network of highways that connect them.

However, the region’s roadway capacity cannot grow quickly enough to meet all of the increased demand. The metropolitan New York/northern New Jersey region’s high land values and dense development make it difficult to construct new highways or expand current ones. The region is also a non-attainment area for National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) of the Clean Air Act. The designation as a non-attainment area places severe federal funding limitations on the region’s ability to expand its highway infrastructure. As a result, the region’s cross-Hudson roadway capacity has remained virtually unchanged since the Verrazano Narrows Bridge was opened in 1964. Increasing demand combined with fixed capacity has led to steadily worsening congestion and deteriorating levels of service.

Rail freight is an extremely efficient way to move large volumes of goods. A single freight rail car can hold up to six times as much tonnage as a truck. In traffic moving at 20 miles per hour (a reasonable average speed for the region’s congested roadways) a large truck takes up as much space as six passenger cars. Thus, one rail car of freight diverted from trucks can have a traffic impact equivalent to removing as many as 36 cars from the road. Because railcars are attached together, a single rail track can also transport significantly more freight than a lane of highway and generate less air pollution per ton of freight moved.

There are also several underused freight rail resources in the East-of-Hudson region, including the Bay Ridge Branch of the Long Island Railroad, the Fremont Secondary in Queens, and 65th Street Yard. By improving the access of rail freight to the East-of-Hudson consumer markets and making better use of these valuable regional assets, it is possible to accommodate a significant portion of the growth in goods movement through efficient rail service.

Rail Options. Rail freight bound for destinations west of the Hudson River has an array of choices, including four major rail access corridors, eight principal rail intermodal facilities, and hundreds of rail sidings or bulk facilities. Current rail freight traffic to destinations east of the Hudson, however, has limited options for reaching destinations east of the Hudson River:

All rail route. Railcars can use the rail bridge at Selkirk, NY (140 miles north of New York City) to cross the Hudson River, and then take the Hudson Line down the east side of the Hudson River to yards in the Bronx and on Long Island. From here, most shipments are transported by truck to their final destination. For most goods arriving from the south and southwest, the roundtrip to Selkirk adds 280 extra miles (and an additional day) to the trip. Freight capacity on the Hudson Line is also very limited because of heavy Metro North and Amtrak passenger traffic.
Rail float route. Railcars can also use a float operation from the New Jersey Waterfront to South Brooklyn, and then travel up the Bay Ridge Branch to yards on Long Island and in the Bronx, where trucks make the final delivery. The current float service has a very limited capacity and does not run regularly, making it difficult to move large volumes of freight in a timely manner. The repeated handling of railcars on and off of barges also adds to the cost of this route.
Rail to Truck in NJ. Finally, railcars can be unloaded in northern New Jersey, and their contents loaded onto trucks for the trip across the Hudson River and on to the final destination. Because of the added time, cost, and uncertainty of the other options, the vast majority of goods are currently transported via this option to their final destination. Some shipments that might otherwise move by rail currently move entirely by truck from their origin to final destination because the added time and cost of crossing the Hudson River outweighs the advantage of shipping by rail in the first place.

Truck Options. To reach East-of-Hudson destinations, goods moving by truck must run a gauntlet of congestion on roadways in northern New Jersey, over one of the limited Hudson River crossings available to trucks, and on chronically congested roadways east of the river. The additional demand of 30,000 trucks using the river crossings each day further exacerbates the already severe congestion. The resulting delays increase the time and cost and greatly reduce the reliability of deliveries to the East-of-Hudson market. As inconvenient and costly as the current truck shipment options sound, they are still vastly more attractive than the current rail shipment options for most routes and commodities.

As a result of the limited rail shipment options, only 2 percent of freight entering the East-of-Hudson travels by rail. Although rail freight is not a viable option for all shipments, the use of rail east of the Hudson River is significantly lower than for the West-of-Hudson markets, (where rail carries 7 percent of all freight) even though the same commodities are transported in both regions. This suggests that improved rail shipment options could attract a greater share of the total freight volume.

Regional benefits--the entire region will benefit from reduced truck Vehicle-Miles-Traveled (VMT), which leads to reduced truck pollutant emissions, and improved regional air quality. The region will also benefit from added capacity to handle the expected dramatic increase in goods.
Benefits from enhanced freight access--businesses and consumers in Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, the Bronx, Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester Counties, and Southwestern Connecticut will benefit from greater rail access to the rest of the country, and the resulting improvements in delivery cost, and reliability.
Benefits from reduced congestion at Hudson River crossings--communities adjacent to the major Hudson River Crossings (northern New Jersey, Staten Island, Manhattan, and the Bronx) will have additional benefits directly from reduced truck volumes on the limited major truck routes (such as the George Washington Bridge, Verrazano Narrows Bridge, and Cross-Bronx Expressway) that link the East-of-Hudson region to the rest of the national freight network.

Will implementation of the proposed alternatives remove ALL truck traffic from regional roadways?

No. The region’s geography and major industries dictate that trucks are (and will remain for the foreseeable future) the cornerstone of the region’s freight transportation system. However, rail service does not need to remove all trucks from the road to make a valuable contribution to the region. There are many opportunities to use rail for shipments that currently move by truck for lack of a viable rail option. What the selected alternative will do is provide regional goods shippers and receivers with a choice, and allow efficient rail transportation to handle a significant 70% growth in goods movement that is forecast for the region in the next 25 years. As a result, regional truck traffic would grow less quickly than it would without the option to ship goods by rail. A large amount of this reduced growth would benefit the major Hudson River crossings, which are already chronically congested.

By moving the beginning of truck delivery trips closer to the ultimate destination, the project also expects to shift the type of truck movements from larger long-haul trucks to smaller local distribution trucks. This would reduce the average length of truck trips in the region, as well as the regional Vehicle Miles Traveled (an important measure of traffic related to regional air quality). An important element of the EIS analysis is to determine how this shift may cause increased local truck traffic near new rail terminals, and identify ways to eliminate or reduce these negative impacts.

Once all comments and concerns on the DEIS have been addressed, they will be incorporated into the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for submission to FHWA and FRA. These agencies will then review the FEIS to ensure that NEPA has been compiled with.