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103D CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 2784
To direct the Secretary of the Army to conduct a study on a prospective
cross-harbor rail freight tunnel connecting Brooklyn, New York, with
the west side of New York Harbor.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JULY 28, 1993
Mr. NADLER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Public Works and Transportation
A BILL
To direct the Secretary of the Army to conduct a study
on a prospective cross-harbor rail freight tunnel connect-
ing Brooklyn, New York, with the west side of New
York Harbor.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘New York Harbor
Tunnel Act of 1993’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that—
(1) trans-harbor and trans-Hudson River trans-
portation links in the vicinity of New York City have
been the prospective targets of terrorists intent on
taking the lives of innocent Americans and disrupt-
ing the commerce of the United States;
(2) the security of such transportation infra-
structure is vital to the economic and military secu-
rity of the Nation;
(3) pursuant to a request by the city of New
York, the New York Economic Development Cor-
poration will initiate a study, in cooperation with
and financed in part by the State of New York, to
determine whether New York should build an addi-
tional tunnel to transport rail freight across New
York Harbor;
(4) an internal analysis conducted by the Army
Corps of Engineers in 1941 concluded that it would
be in the Nation’s best interest to complete such a
tunnel to help secure the transportation system of
the northeastern United States against armed attack
by foreign powers;
(5) previous studies of the potential for such a
tunnel, conducted between 1920 and 1993, have con-
cluded that various alignments and configurations,
including a tunnel from the State of New York to
the State of New Jersey, might be feasible; and
(6) if such a tunnel were built, it would be em-
ployed in the conduct of interstate commerce.
SEC. 3. CROSS-HARBOR RAIL FREIGHT TUNNEL.
(a) STUDY.—The Secretary of the Army shall con-
duct a study, in cooperation with local, State, and munici-
pal authorities, on alternative physical and operational
configurations of a prospective cross-harbor rail freight
tunnel connecting Brooklyn, New York, with the west side
of New York Harbor.
(b) COMPONENTS.—In conducting the study under
subsection (a), the Secretary shall—
(1) determine whether the tunnel described in
subsection (a) could improve the security of the
transportation system of the region;
(2) recommend ways to optimize the security of
such tunnel, including the use of operational and
physical security measures;
(3) analyze which of the potential alignments
and configurations for such tunnel is the most se-
cure against attack, and determine the relative costs
of construction for each such alignment;
(4) analyze how each alternative alignment for
such tunnel could be constructed and which alter-
natives are feasible, consistent with the need for
operational viability of the tunnel after completion
and the need to protect the environment and to
maintain navigation in New York Harbor during the
construction phase and thereafter; and
(5) determine the costs of each feasible alter-
native alignment for such tunnel, with and without
the addition of operational or physical security
measures.
(c) EXPERTS
AND CONSULTANTS.—In conducting
the study under subsection (a), the Secretary may procure
temporary and intermittent services under section 3109(b)
of title 5, United States Code.
(d) REPORT.—Not later than June 1, 1994, the Sec-
retary shall transmit to the Committee on Public Works
and Transportation of the House of Representatives and
the Committee on Environment and Public Works of the
Senate a report on the results of the study conducted
under subsection (a).
(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is
authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section
$800,000 for fiscal year 1994. Such sums shall remain
available until expended.
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