It was only last week that U.S. Sen Frank Lautenberg announced another hard-won victory, albeit a small one, for rail travel. Early this morning, the scrappy fighter for a host of Democratic causes – and one that could possibly be considered nonpartisan, yet put him at odds with Gov. Chris Christie - died at 89 in a Manhattan hospital.
Christie, who remembered Lautenberg as “a fighter,” will appoint a successor, until a special election to replace the senator can be held.
In late 2010, Christie and Lautenberg had their most fiery clash over the building of the ARC tunnel under the Hudson River, which would have doubled train capacity between New Jersey and Midtown. Lautenberg had spearheaded the fight to win $375 million in federal funding and approvals for the project; Christie refused to commit state money, effectively killing it.
Lautenberg, never one to surrender softly, commissioned a federal Government Accountability Office report on Christie's claims that costs had escalated wildly for the ARC and that New Jersey would wind up having to pay 70% of them. GAO's report, issued in April 2012, said Christie was wrong on both counts. Projected costs had held steady and the state would pay only 14%, according to the GAO.
Meanwhile, Lautenberg – who remained vigorous until he underwent successful treatment for cancer in 2011, followed by series of illnesses last year – got behind Amtrak's smaller Gateway project to New York's Penn Station.
Last week, federal transportation authorities set aside $185 million in Hurricane Sandy relief funds to fortify rail tunnels under the Hudson Yards project in Manhattan. That means the rights-of-way needed for the Gateway project would be preserved.
Lautenberg trumpeted the victory last week for what he called "the most important transportation project in our region."
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