The region’s reliance on a 111-year-old bridge with an unreliable movable span has always been a recipe for problems.  Today’s delay due to a bridge malfunction only underscore the obvious.  We must modernize our transportation system so that it is safe and reliable.
Thankfully, plans are underway to replace the Portal Bridge with a new fixed-span bridge that can accommodate rail and boat traffic at the same time. With 450 trains crossing this span each day, the need is real.  This project can’t start soon enough. 

Of course, this is just one example of how inaction and delay hurts our region and puts people at-risk.  We must also deal with our 108-year old rail tunnel that connects Manhattan and New Jersey.  I cannot even conceive the devastation to our region if our only rail tunnel in and out of Manhattan were to fail us.

Long-needed investment in our transportation system needs to happen now.  Our safety, our economy, and our quality of life depends on it.