The Hudson River rail tunnel was upgraded in priority to medium-high on Jan. 20 by the Federal Transit Administration after years of delays during the Trump era.

A plan submitted Aug. 27 to the Federal Transit Administration by the Gateway Development Corp., which is overseeing the construction, noted a $700 million year-over-year increase for the project, from $11.6 billion in 2020 to $12.3 billion now.

The Gateway project, NJ Transit, Amtrak, electric vehicles, broadband, Superfund sites, changing of lead pipes and other projects all stand to see some of the federal investment dollars.

The U.S. Senate advanced the measure July 28 that would put federal funds toward repairing crumbling bridges, roads, railways and other needed structures.

The Record of Decision means the project can now be considered for federal funding needed to finance it, which would include a sizable chunk of dollars from the White House.

The president's $1.9 trillion infrastructure plan has been characterized as the largest federal economic intervention since President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal nearly a century ago, and could be what the nation needs to kick-start the post-COVID economy recovery.