Federal government have agreed to fund at least 50 percent of the cost of the proposed Gateway Tunnel Project under the Hudson River, officials said in a joint statement Wednesday.

Cory Booker
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According to NJ Advance Media, the announcement comes from officials including  U.S. Senators Cory Booker, D-N.J., Charles Schumer, D-N.Y and Governors Chris Christie and Andrew Cuomo. Officials plan to make the formal announcement Thursday.

As part of the deal, state and federal officials will create a development corporation to oversee the project moving forward. The estimated cost of the project is about $20 billion.

"The agreement about the creation of the Gateway Development Corporation and funding for the Gateway Project was worked out with federal officials in conjunction with Booker, Schumer, U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx and Amtrak CEO Anthony Coscia," NJ Advance media reported.

The federal government's agreement to fund half the project follows the proposal outlined in a joint letter sent by Christie and Cuomo to President Barack Obama in September, asking the federal government to fund half the stalled project.

“We are writing jointly in an attempt to move the stalled project forward by putting a funding proposal on the table that we believe is realistic, appropriate and fair: split the responsibility for the cost,” the letter states. “The new tunnel is essential to the region, and this bipartisan proposal is designed to break through the logjam that has delayed its construction in the past.”

Federal funding could come from a variety of sources including New Starts Grant money as well as profits from Amtrak's Northeast Corridor profits and Amtrak capital funds, NJ Advance media reports.

Federal officials could not be reached for comment Wednesday night.

Toniann Antonelli is the digital managing editor at NJ 101.5. Reach her at toniann.antonelli@townsquaremedia.com, or on Twitter @ToniRadio1015.

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