All the more reason to get an office tower built on this site (it has the largest footprint in central Midtown) as well as the other surrounding sites...
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/15/nyregion/15tunnel.html?_r=1&ref=nyregion
2nd Hudson Rail Tunnel Clears Key Federal Hurdle
By KEN BELSON
January 14, 2009
The prospects for a second rail tunnel under the Hudson River to Pennsylvania Station in Manhattan received a major boost on Wednesday when federal authorities approved an environmental assessment for a $9 billion tunnel planned by New Jersey Transit and the Port Authority.
The agencies can now apply to get their final design accepted and lobby the federal government for the remaining $3 billion needed to begin work on the project, which is
expected to be completed by 2017. If all goes well, the agencies believe they will be able to break ground in the summer.
Known as Access to the Region’s Core, or ARC, the tunnel would double the number of trains that can travel under the Hudson between New York and New Jersey to 48 per hour, from 23 now. The extra train service is expected to eliminate 22,000 automobile trips a day.
The new service also would allow more New Jersey Transit riders to reach New York without having to change trains in Newark or Secaucus. A second tunnel would also relieve pressure on the century-old tunnel that New Jersey Transit shares with Amtrak. The project’s six new tracks in Manhattan, which would terminate beneath 34th Street, would also allow commuters to connect underground to the subways and PATH trains at Avenue of the Americas.
____________________
“The timing couldn’t be better, because the region could benefit from a project like this,” said Anthony R. Coscia, the chairman of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which has contributed $3 billion to the project. “In the near term, it will put a lot of people to work, and in the long term, it will revolutionize how people get into the city.”
The project is expected to generate 6,000 jobs a year during construction. An additional 44,000 jobs could be created because the tunnel would provide easier access to New York City, according to New Jersey Transit.