GOVERNOR CORZINE AND NEW COALITION SUPPORT CONSTRUCTION OF NEW RAIL TUNNEL
A bi-state and bipartisan coalition was announced to promote construction of a trans-Hudson rail tunnel between New Jersey and New York --- a project that also received strong support from Governor Jon Corzine and bipartisan officials from New Jersey and New York. The announcement of formation of the Friends of the Tunnel and Corzine’s endorsement came during the 4th annual Governor’s Transportation Conference hosted by the New Jersey Alliance for Action. Some 700 transportation officials, professionals and advocates attended the conference.

Governor Jon Corzine said he is “absolutely committed” to the tunnel project and asserted that “it will happen.” The Governor said he expects a shovel in the ground for the project by 2009. NJ Transit Executive Director George Warrington said the region has had to function with a 100-year-old obsolete tunnel. He reported that the new tunnel would accommodate 48 to 50 trains per hour, more than twice the 23 trains per hour that use the existing tunnel. Warrington said a contract would be awarded by early 2007 for construction management.

Leaders of The Friends of the Tunnel will be the Alliance for Action and the New York Building Congress. Support for the tunnel project also came at the conference from Anthony Coscia, Chairman of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and State Transportation Commissioner Kris Kolluri.

Alliance for Action President Philip K. Beachem stressed that the unified support for the tunnel overcomes partisan and bi-state differences that have hindered transportation projects in the past. He said the Friends of the Tunnel will be broadly based and will work for public and media support to encourage action, including funding, for the tunnel in Washington, Trenton and Albany. Beachem on Monday (May 15) participated in a New York press conference with U.S. Senators Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey and Charles Schumer of New York, as well as Kolluri, Coscia, and Warrington, to reaffirm strong and unified bi-state support for the tunnel project.

The new rail tunnel would be an integral component of the overall transportation program known as Access to the Region’s Core (ARC). Principal components are two new tracks under the Hudson River, a six-track passenger station under 34th Street in Manhattan and improvements in New Jersey to provide a one-seat ride to NJ Transit riders on the Raritan Valley, Main/Bergen and Pascack Valley Lines. In addition to news on the tunnel, the conference attendees also heard from New Jersey Turnpike Authority Executive Director Michael Lapolla and Bart Mueller, Deputy Executive Director of the South Jersey Transportation Authority, on future plans for improvements and expansion of their facilities.

TUNNEL RECEIVES STAR-LEDGER ENDORSEMENT
Following the boost the project received at the Alliance for Action’s annual Governor’s Transportation Conference, construction of a new rail tunnel under the Hudson River got a strong endorsement from the Star-Ledger.

In an editorial, the state’s largest newspaper commented: “A second rail tunnel is a project on a scale with the George Washington Bridge or the Lincoln or Holland Tunnels, and it is just as crucial to the future quality of New Jersey life and to the economic health of the region.”

ALLIANCE TO SPONSOR CONFERENCE ON HOSPITAL CONSTRUCTION
For up-to-date information on plans by New Jersey hospitals to invest billions of dollars in capital construction, make certain to attend a special conference on Tuesday, June 20, sponsored by the New Jersey Alliance for Action.

The conference will be held at the Lafayette Yard Marriott Conference Center in Trenton, with the program to begin at 10 a.m. following registration and networking at 9 a.m. Construction leaders on New Jersey’s hospital industry will report on their expansion details and participate in a discussion about the future of hospital construction in the state. For information on reservations, please call the Alliance at (732) 225-1180 or register here.

SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION RESULTS REPORTED
Six of nine school districts passed referenda authorizing borrowing for school construction and renovation in the latest local school elections. Of the $25.3 million in projects proposed, a total of $11 million was approved at the April elections. The next elections are scheduled for September 26, 2006.

GOETHALS BRIDGE COMMITTEE TO MEET
The next meeting of the Stakeholder Committee for the Goethals Bridge Replacement Environmental Impact Statement will be held on Thursday, June 15, from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Elizabeth Public Library. Preliminary results of the screening process for intermediate alternatives will be presented for review and comment.

OLD RUG MILL SITE MOVES CLOSER TO REDEVELOPMENT
Hightstown- A site that once housed a rug mill moved closer to redevelopment when it was purchased by The Wolfington Cos. of West Conshocken, Pa., and a related company, Greystone Capital Partners. Purchase price for the 6.4-acre property was a reported $3.2 million. Plans are for a mixed-use development, including about 80 condos.

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE
Philip K. Beachem, President of the New Jersey Alliance for Action received the Service to the People Award of the New Jersey Section, American Society of Civil Engineers.
Eugene Grambo was elected Business Manager of Laborers Union Local 472. He succeeds John Hibbs, who recently retired.
Michael J. Crowley, CPA, has been named Vice President of Trap Rock Industries, succeeding Steve Osborne, who retired.
Andrew M. Pacucci, PE, of the Railroad Construction Family of Companies, received the Engineer of the Year Award from the Professional Engineers in Construction of New Jersey.
Steven A. Renzi, was appointed by the Maguire Group as Vice President, Business Development and Location Manager for the Lawrenceville and Atlantic City offices.
Nancy Feldman, a former Goldman Sachs executive, has been appointed by Governor Jon Corzine as Director of Public Finance. She will supervise the bond sales of some of the biggest U.S. municipal bond issuers, including the New Jersey Economic Development Authority. She also will select investment banks to manage the state’s bond sales.

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