Advocates and lawmakers said the PATH extension would be a likely candidate to cancel or postpone to free up funds to replace the NY bus terminal Watch video
As Port Authority officials are grappling with funding a new Manhattan bus terminal and replacing Newark Airport's aging monorail, a proposed $1.5 billion expansion of the PATH rail line to Newark Airport could be on the chopping block.
Advocates and lawmakers said the PATH extension would be a likely candidate to cancel or postpone to free up funds, since NJ Transit and Amtrak trains already provide that service.
"Holding off on projects such as the PATH extension to Newark Airport, (and) LaGuardia and Newark (airport) improvements could free up as much as $4.4 billion over the next 10 years," Janna Chernetz, senior New Jersey policy analyst with the Tri-State Transportation Campaign, a mass transit advocacy group.
The PATH extension and airport improvements are among 11 major projects in the Port Authority's capital plan. The bus terminal replacement was added to the plan last week, while the monorail replacement is not part of that plan.
While the LaGuardia Airport projects have the backing of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, the PATH extension lacks the same level of political support. Port Authority commissioners could take another look at the capital plan next month.
State lawmakers, such as State Senator Loretta Weinberg, D-Bergen, have called for canceling the PATH extension and using the funds for the bus terminal or replacement of the monorail system.
During a legislative hearing last September, State Senators Paul Sarlo, Robert Gordon and Weinberg, all Bergen County Democrats, called for all spending on the project to be frozen until the outcome of an investigation whether the extension had been influenced by United Airlines officials.
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Newark officials have backed the project for the economic impact it could have on the city. Planning groups such as the New York based Regional Plan Association have supported the extension for the added mobility it would provide.
City Councilman John Sharpe James, who represents the city's South Ward, said the extension and a new train station would bring jobs and new development to an area that has long been rife with crime and poverty.
Larry Higgs may be reached at lhiggs@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @commutinglarry. Find NJ.com on Facebook.