Hearing on LI Sound Tunnel Proposal
Senator Carl Marcellino held a hearing today in Oyster Bay regarding the Long Island Sound Tunnel Proposal. Below is the press release from the Senator.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 24, 2008
CONTACT: Kathy Wilson ( 516) 922-1811
MARCELLINO HOLDS HEARING ON LONG ISLAND SOUND TUNNEL PROPOSAL
Senator Carl L. Marcellino (R-Syosset) Chairman of the Senate Environmental Conservation Committee today held a joint hearing with the Senate Transportation Committee on the Long Island Sound Tunnel proposal.
This hearing afforded the committees the opportunity to question the developer about the project and to hear from government officials that represent the areas most directly affected. According to Senator Marcellino this is just the opening to an array of steps in the process.
"This is a serious proposal by serious people. It must be fully reviewed before we change the landscape of Long Island forever," Senator Marcellino said.
In preparation for the hearing Senator Marcellino visited the East Side Access tunnel project that will connect the Long Island Rail Road’s Main and Port Washington lines to a new terminal beneath Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan. There he witnessed first hand the workings of a 200 ton tunnel boring machine and the process used to remove the debris.
"Seeing first hand the process of building a tunnel gave me new insight to this proposal. The magnitude is astonishing," said Senator Marcellino.
"Through the course of this hearing I had the opportunity to ask many of my questions and questions of my constituent. Now I have a fuller understanding of what will be involved and the effect on the community, "
said Senator Marcellino.
Senator Marcellino had mailed the affected community and asked them to submit their concerns. In addition, on his web site,
www.senatormarcellino.com, he has a quick poll to get the pulse of the community.
The proposed Long Island Sound tunnel is approximately 16 miles in length and would extend from Route 135 (Seaford-Oyster Bay Expressway) in Syosset, to the intersection of I-287 and I-95 in Rye, NY. The world’s longest roadway tunnel built in Norway is 15.2 miles
The project would be funded by the private sector and cost approximately $10 billion. The toll is estimated at $25 dollars one way.
The tunnel is expected to carry between 59,000 and 79,000 vehicles per day when it is completed in 2025. According to the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority, annual average daily traffic in 2006 on the Queens Midtown Tunnel was 79,359.
Testifying at the hearing was Supervisor John Venditto of the Town of Oyster Bay,Vincent and Michael Polimeni of Polimeni International LLC, the engineering firm of Hatch Mott MacDonald, Dr. William Kelly, NYS Geologist, Professor Stanley Klein, Long Island University, Mayor Steven Otis of Rye, Valerie O’Keefe Supervisor of Mamaroneck, Mayor Drew Fixell of Tarrytown, Michael White, Executive Director of the Long Island Regional Planning Board and Mayor Harry Anand of the Village of Laurel Hollow.
In attendance were many of the local governmental leaders including, Mayor Vicki Segal, Mayor Tom Zoller, Councilwoman Rose Walker, Town Clerk Steve Labriola, Assemblyman Rob Walker and others.
"I thank everyone who came to offer their expertise and thoughts," concluded Senator Marcellino
Kathy D. Wilson
Communications Director
Senator Carl L. Marcellino - 5th Senate District 250 Townsend Square Oyster Bay, NY 11771
Phone: 516-922-1811 ** Fax: 516-922-1154
http://www.senatormarcellino.com
Could not make it. Read Newsday article, seemed to be the same info as in the press release.
Any feedback from anyone who attended?
What was the general concensus from local Mayors? Local residents? Did many people show?
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I was not able to make the hearing, but did just read the newsday article. I have to say I am more than a little bothered by the idea of the developer wanting to buy the land/digging rights beneath the houses....or having the land condemned to allow digging. isn't that eminent domain?
Would Bayville be in the path of this tunnel? What does our village gov't say about it?
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The NY Post Albany reporter, Fred Dicker, was discussing this issue on the John Gambling radio show. The project is in the talking stage but Syosset to Rye seems to be the plan. It is assumed that they would extend Route 135 from Syosset, under the sound, to Rye. This sounds very much like the path of the old "Bridge to Rye" project. The reporter mentioned that the undertaking would be very expensive and collapses and leaks in the new Boston Tunnel should be studied and discussed before any new tunnel is dug.
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I love infrastructure proposals that take 15 years or so to complete. They are typically made using assumptions that often prove to be invalid down the road, in this case, 2025, the estimated completion date for the Syosset-to-Rye tunnel now under consideration. I would be willing to bet that the eventual cost rises from today’s $10 billion to at least $20 billion and that the toll will likely end up closer to $50 in order to realize a reasonable return for the “private” investors. I use quote marks here because these investors will most certainly receive a plenitude of tax breaks or other veiled subsidies to sweeten the venture. In other words, the cost will to some degree be borne by taxpayers, whether they benefit from it or not. By the way, does the $25 estimated toll take into consideration inflation, that ugly monster whose annual rate will most likely accelerate as energy costs skyrocket over the period?
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This has BOONDOGGLE written all over it! No private investor can afford this proposal. Taxpayers get your wallets out!!
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I'm sure there will be many more hearings, but this is a TERRIBLE idea! They couldn't go over us with the Bayville- Rye bridge, but now they're going to try to go under us? I can imagine terrible environmental side-effects from this sort of undertaking.
Why doesn't this private investor create another ferry line to Connecticut or Rye out of Bayville, Glen Cove or Oyster Bay? Wouldn't that be a logical, environmentally friendly, non invasive, more immediately useable alternative?
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The Northender has coverage of the meeting:
http://www.northender.com/feature_story_details.jsp?id=1333
Barry
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How is the tunnel idea terrible? It really shouldn't impact the environment. How many railroad, subway and vehicular tunnels run in and out of Manhattan Island? The new water tunnel being built by the City is 600 feet below the surface of Manhattan Island. Yet there is hardly a mention of it.
Ferries can transport limited numbers of cars and the roads going to the ferry become main arteries creating traffic problems.
Offering private financing will make the geniuses in Albnay sit up and take notice and the proposed $25 a trip is $20 less than the Port Jefferson ferry to Connecticut.
What will stop the tunnel will be the objections of Westchester legislators and the state of Connecticut because the I-95 corridor infrastructure is already beyond capacity.
If you have recently taken a trip to Connecticut and sat in miles of traffic with cars adding their emissions to the environment, you would see that the tunnel may be an idea whose time has come.
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Environmental Impact
My biggest fear is what sort of impact the tunnel would have on our delicate aquifer system. New York City gets its water supply from upstate reservoirs, but Long Island is completely dependent on our aquifer.
There are still many homes on the Island which are dependent on well-water (Centre Island, Oyster Bay Cove, Laurel Hollow). I have not yet seen any reports regarding how the drilling will potentially affect those homes which are dependent on the upper most aquifer as their water supply through wells.
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The upper most aquifers are not used for drinking water. The lloyde aquifer is the only one used on Long Island it is about 500-550 foot under the ground and ranges from about 2 foot deep to 750 foot in western Suffolk.i don`t think they will be tunneling down that deep.The other three aquifers,upper glacial - the Jameco - and the Magothy, have all been compromised by by salt water intrustion.Remember the well in Oyster Bay that was capped about 5 years ago,I beleive that also had a little oil from G.U. in her.
I think a tunnel would be the smartest thing L.I. could do to be safe. Ferries are not a option in a time of danger.NYC gets a Bio attack and your not going to be able to get the Island.
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I would love to see this tunnel built. It would cut a lot of time off my commute. My car's engine will only have to run for half the time it does now by going through the city to get to Rye. It seems to me that this would be better for the environment. There would also be less traffic just passing through the city.
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