Officials from New Jersey and New York convened in Manhattan on Monday to celebrate a funding agreement that finalizes a long-awaited cross-Hudson rail project that will double capacity and boost the reliability of the plagued railway.

Monday morning’s signing ceremony served as a victory lap for the Gateway project’s advocates, who credited the Biden administration for the $6.8 billion grant that pushed the railway expansion to the “point of no return.” The federal government will now cover about 70 percent of the cost of the Gateway Program, which consists of a series of bridge and tunnel projects planned through 2038.

The project is expected to stabilize the stretch of troubled tracks — NJ Transit commuters have faced repeated hours-long delays in recent weeks after Amtrak-managed railways suffered wiring issues.

The Biden administration’s $12 billion total commitment to the Gateway project constitutes the largest federal investment in a rail transit project in modern history. Loans from the Build America Bureau reaching $4.06 billion will cover the local share of the cost.

“Today is a day of making investments, the biggest investment of taxpayers in a transportation project ever,” said Senator Cory Booker. “This is a day of coming back to who we say we are, a nation that invests in itself so we can grow our nation, grow our economy, and continue to lead the world.”

Democrats used the event to laud President Joe Biden, who has faced some pressure to end his reelection campaign after a middling debate performance last month.

Booker, for example, said former President Donald Trump held up environmental reviews and other steps necessary for the project.

“If there’s any reason we’re here today, it’s because when President Joe Biden was elected, he said this is the No. 1 infrastructure project in the United States of American,” Booker said. “And I want to thank President Joe Biden for his focus, for his commitment, and for helping us in Congress, in the Senate, to deliver what we see today.”

And Deputy Transportation Secretary Polly Trottenberg, who represented the administration at the ceremony, criticized Trump for “racking up costs and delaying this important work.”

“He really is Amtrak Joe,” Trottenberg said. “I’m proud to say we are all in, from the top to bottom.”

Expect New Jersey Republicans to also tout Gateway as a victory: Rep. Tom Kean (R-Westfield), who faces a tight reelection race against Sue Altman, has used his seat on the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee to push for the Gateway project.

Construction on one part of the project, the new Portal North Bridge spanning the Hackensack River, started two years ago, but the funding agreement wraps up a yearslong fight to secure money for what will be a decade-long project.

The Gateway project includes the construction of two new rail tunnels and the revamp of the existing North River Tunnel — the new tunnels are projected to enter service in 2035, and the revamp is expected to conclude in 2038. The Portal North Bridge, which replaces the more than century-old Portal Bridge that is a regular source of delays and congestion, is scheduled for a 2025 partial completion.

Later stages of the project, which include a planned expansion of New York Penn Station, will make possible a four-track railway from Newark Penn Station to New York.

“Please have some patience, this is not going to be overnight,” Gov. Phil Murphy said during the event. “But when it finally hits, it will transform literally millions of lives, and I’m honored to be a part of that.”

Tony Coscia, the chair of Amtrak’s Board of Directors and the vice chair of the Gateway Development Commission, said the project will double NJ Transit and Amtrak capacity from 450 trains per day to 900.

“The new Hudson River Tunnel will supercharge the rail connections across our region and to the nation, improving and expanding rail service in ways we’ve only been able to dream about in the past,” Coscia said in a release.

Senator Bob Menendez, a staunch proponent of the Gateway program, was absent from the ceremony — his corruption trial is approaching closing arguments — but offered his praise in a statement Monday.

“Hard-working New Jerseyans have waited too long for faster, safer, and more reliable public transit along the Northeast Corridor, and now help is on the way,” Menendez said.

Memories of former Gov. Chris Christie’s cancellation of a prior rail project hung heavy over the proceedings — several speakers lauded the expansion but said it should have started years ago. Christie in 2010 controversially pulled New Jersey out of the ​​Access to the Region’s Core project, which started in 2009 and was slated for completion in 2018.

“Like a lot of you, I too in the Obama administration had the heartbreaking experience of watching a previous New Jersey governor cancel the original project,” Trottenberg said. “It was such a frustrating moment.”

But at Monday’s celebration, officials thanked themselves, their counterparts from across the Hudson, and the Biden administration for building the framework of the landmark project.

“The Gateway race was truly a marathon, with its twists, its turns, its bumps,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said at Monday’s signing ceremony. “But we laced up, we kept up the pace, and we made it.”

A super PAC allied with Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop has a colossal $9 million cash-on-hand after raising more than $575,000 in the second quarter of 2024.

Coalition for Progress has raised a mammoth $1.825 million so far this year to back up Fulop’s bid for the Democratic nomination for governor next year and in support of Democratic candidates.  The super PAC has raised over $11 million since its inception in 2015.

Fulop announced his candidacy in April 2023 and quickly raised enough to qualify for matching funds under the state’s public financing law.   He’ll be eligible to receive $5.5 million in public funds, giving him $8.7 million to spend in the primary.  The $9 million in the Coalition for Progress account gives him $17.7 million in resources right now, more than ten months before the gubernatorial primary.

“With the Supreme Court and MAGA Republicans continuing their assault on some of our most fundamental rights and the rule of law, organizations like Coalition for Progress that advocate for common sense, forward-thinking leadership have never been more important,” said Drew Nussbaum, the PAC chairman. “We’re grateful to all of our contributors who believe in our mission and look forward to helping elect candidates who will deliver progress for the middle class.”

Raising enough to get 100% of the available matching funds isn’t always an easy task.  In 2017, Republican Kim Guadagno, the sitting lieutenant governor, couldn’t hit that mark.  Four years later, candidates needed to raise $490,000 to qualify for matching funds; only Murphy and Ciattarelli did so.

The New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission, which administers the matching funds program, has raised the contribution limit from $4,900 to $5,800; that gives Fulop a chance to go return to donors and seek an additional $900 contribution.

So far, Fulop faces former Senate President Steve Sweeney, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, and former Montclair Mayor Sean Spiller, the president of the New Jersey Education Association, in the Democratic primary.  Others could join them, including Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-Wyckoff) and Mikie Sherrill (D-Montclair), Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin, former Deputy U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Jim Johnson, and U.S. Under Secretary of Veterans Affairs Shereef Elnahal, a former state health commissioner.,

On the Republican side, State Sen. Jon Bramnick (R-Westfield), former Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli (R-Somerville), former State Sen. Ed “The Trucker” Durr (R-Logan), and NJ 101.5 radio host Bill Spadea have announced their candidacies for governor.  Former Englewood Cliffs Mayor Mario Kranjac is also mulling a bid for the GOP nomination.

Atlantic County Democratic Chairman Michael Suleiman wants Joe Biden to remain in the race and is calling on other New Jersey Democrats to reaffirm their support of the president for a second term.

“The corporate media and political elites want to dump President Biden because they’ll benefit from the chaos.  Regular folks I talk to outside of the political bubble are sticking with Joe, and so am I,” Suleiman said.  “Democratic primary voters overwhelmingly voted for the Biden-Harris ticket, and the wishes of our rank-and-file members should not be cast away.”

Suleiman was elected delegate to the Democratic National Convention on the Biden slate in the June 4 primary; he is obligated to vote for Biden on the first ballot if the president is nominated.

“Growing up in Atlantic County, I learned that we don’t abandon our own. As a family, we stick together and tough it out,” Suleiman said.  “That’s why I’m reaffirming my support for President Biden.”

He wants the Democratic congressional delegation and county chairs to publicly state their support of the president.

“Let’s show the nation that New Jersey Democrats are united behind Joe Biden and Kamala Harris,” he said.