Officials at the US Department of Transportation (USDOT) have suggested that the organization could cancel its agreement with the states of New Jersey and New York to provide funding for the deal.
Last week, governors Chris Christie and Andrew Cuomo looked to put more pressure on the federal government to back the scheme, when they announced commitments to fully fund their half of the total cost of the project.
However, an official suggested that the funding commitment – which will see the states repay $3.6bn in federal loans – is now being viewed as part of the federal government’s commitment, leaving the future investment in the project up in the air.
Such a position represents a new approach, as many states typically use federal debt programs such as TIFIA to support their side of any investment in projects. If these are now all considered to be part of the federal government’s funding, it will leave all similar projects uncertain of their future funding.
Concerns over the commitment of the federal government to the Gateway project have been raised before. In July, USDOT withdrew as a trustee of the Gateway Program Development Corporation board.