(The New York Times posted the following article on its website on October 20.)
NEW YORK — The board of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey voted yesterday to begin work to identify land that must be bought to build a new rail tunnel beneath the Hudson River, a statement from the board said. Construction on the tunnel, which will provide greater rail access to Pennsylvania Station, is set to begin in 2009, a Port Authority spokesman said. The Port Authority board has committed $75 million for property acquisition, according to a statement from the authority. The overall project, scheduled for completion in 2016, is expected to cost $6.1 billion to $7.2 billion.