New-York tribune., 1921-12-18
Wider Scope
Proposed By
: State Board
Neighboring Communities
Must Coordinate Efforts
With Those of City, 1t Con-
tends; Similarity of Plans

would have to rehaul freight from their
present extensive freight terminals
back over the outer belt line proposed
by the city, making long and cir
cuitous haul at great inconvenience.
with loss Of time and at large expense.
In order to obviate this the trunk line
railroads would be compelled to chance
the location of their vast freight ter
minals, which could only be done at an
enormous expense.
The Port Authority plan provides for
tunnel from Greenville, N. j., to Bay
Ridge, Brooklyn, by which means all
the railroads terminating on the west
side OF the port shall be brought to the
easterly side of the port for direct de-
livery, without breaking bulk, of all
freight destined for Long Island, the
Bronx and New England points. This
tunnel is adjacent to the trunk line
railroad freight terminals in New Jer-
sey and easily accessible by short
haul. 1t crosses the upper bay north
of the Narrows and does not touch
Staten Island, fact which naturally
invites the criticism Of the city su-
thorities and the residents Of Rich
mond
The construction of the Staten Island
tunnel by the city, however, is a sepa-
rate and distinct project provided by
legislative act, and provision is made
in the Port Authority plan for CON
nections on Staten Island with this
tunnel. The Port Authority plan in
cludes belt line railroad on Staten
Island connecting with the Stapleton
piers and extending westward along the
route Of the North Shore line of the
Baltimore g. Ohio Railroad, across the
Arthur Kill to a connection with the
middle belt line at the junction of the
Baltimore & Ohio Railroad and the
Central Railroad of New Jersey. This
belt line can be connected with the
city tunnel under the Narrows.
The city authorities, as announced
by the Mayor, believe that the tunnel
across the Narrows will solve the
problem of inter- connection between
the railroads of New Jersey and
greater New York better and at far
less cost than the tunnel and plan Of
the Port Authority. The railroads are
opposed to this idea because of the in
convenient location of the Richmond
tunnel and it's inadequacy properly to
handle the great tonnage of freight
from New Jersey. Mayor Hylan has
said that the proposed Port Authority
tunnel would be Unnecessarily costly
and enormously longer" than the
Staten Island tunnel.
City Tunnel Is Shorter.
But Has Per Cent Grade
Referring to this criticism by the
city authorities Chairman Outerbridge
said:
Taken from their own maps, the
city tunnel crossing the State Island
Narrows is designed with a per cent
grade and the length of the tunnel is
22,750 feet. The tunnel as planned by
the Port Authority from Greenville to
Bay Ridge has only 1.6 maximum grade
and is 24,290 feet long. The city tun-
mel is 1,540 feet shorter than the
the Greenville Bay Ridge tunnel, but
would be materially longer if the same
grades were used in EACH"
In regard to the costliness of the
Port Authority tunnel Mr.. Outer
bridge pointed out that the expense
OF building the outer belt line and the
long outlying connections with the
Staten Island tunnel, in comparison
with the short connections from the
terminal freight yards with the Bay
Ridge tunnel. would more than Offset
the additional cost of the longer tun-
nell
The Port Authority has not vet
made general estimate Of the cost of
it's proposed plan, but will work it out
later. The city plan involves an esti
mated outlay of s141 100000. The city
proposes to make the Staten Island
Brooklyn tunnel self-supporting, in
| ~~~~ S''~sS 4" @hoJ HOL We OurQen
the taxpayers or the city debt limit
The financing of the Port Authority
plan does not involve any tax burdens.
The Port Authority proposes to
prove to the railroads that the port in,
rrovements as outlined in the plan are
SO desirable that the railroads will
build the belt lines themselves. Some
OF the belt lines already in existence
VIII be utilized in the plan. The Port
Authority has the power as a corporate
entity to issue bonds for the financing
Of the automatic electric marginal rail
way proposed to facilitate the move
ment Of freight and merchandise in
Manhattan. Such bonds would he ex-
empt from taxation. The railroads
have informally approved the Port Au-
thority plan.
While the committee points out that
the unifying Of the terminal service
may be effected through a public
agency like the City of New York. as
has been done at New Orleans. San
Francisco and Montreal, it suggests
lAl