On a day when laborers and commuters have demonstrated in support of the trans-Hudson River ARC tunnel, U.S. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ-8) today cited the tunnel as vital to maintaining homeland security based on a 2008 report from the National Academies’ Transportation Research Board.  Pascrell has been a long-time supporter of the tunnel project, which would provide a one-seat ride on the rails from Passaic County to midtown Manhattan. 

“When President Eisenhower created our nation’s interstate highway system in the 1950s, he announced it as the ‘National Defense Highway System.’  He referenced the need to safely move people and goods as a key component to national security.  As our region has become more populated and more congested, we in New Jersey must look to the need for a strong public transit system through the same security lens, as we seek to move people from New York City in times of emergency,”  said Pascrell, New Jersey’s only member of the House Homeland Security Committee.

“Thousands of commuters would need multiple options in getting to safety in the event of an evacuation. The National Academies’ study gives further evidence for the need for another transit tunnel under the Hudson River as part of our emergency preparedness plans.  Aside from congestion relief, economic growth, environmental health, and job creation, having system redundancy and increased capacity is clearly an important benefit derived from the ARC Tunnel.”

In 2008, the National Academies’ Transportation Research Board released its two-year study that concluded that while millions of people each day rely on mass transit, few urban area emergency plans have focused on its role in an emergency evacuation.
After reviewing 38 urban areas' emergency response and evacuation plans, the committee found that transit has a role to play in each of the four major elements that make up an emergency response plan -- mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery.  Among the five case studies examined in the report is the New York/New Jersey metropolitan area.  The report notes that NJT and PATH rail systems are “well integrated into emergency planning initiatives,” but the area-wide regional evacuation plan needs further development.  Redundancy of transit systems is an element deemed crucial by the report.  New Jersey is undertaking an initiative to build a new passenger rail tunnel under the Hudson River which is cited as an important addition to the region.
Recommendations within the report include:
• Ensure emergency manager’s incorporate transit in local emergency evacuation plans
• Make transit a full partner, with interoperable communication systems
• Encourage transit agencies to be realistic in their capabilities in emergency planning
• Integrate the requirements of carless and special needs populations into evacuation planning
• Make eligible and fund evacuation-related capacity enhancement projects aimed at adding redundancy to critical transportation systems.
• projects aimed at adding redundancy to critical transportation systems.

A copy of the report can be viewed on the link below:

https://www.nationalacademies.org/

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