The Baltimore and Potomac Tunnel was completed under the presidency of Ulysses S. Grant, connecting Philadelphia and Washington by rail for the first time.
However, 150 years later, the tunnel that runs beneath several residential neighborhoods in Baltimore has become more of a bottleneck than a lifeline. There is only one track, and trains must slow to 30 mph to navigate a tight turn on the southern end, causing frequent delays — the White House reports that more than 10 percent of workday trains are delayed, and delays occur virtually every weekday.
As a U.S. senator for decades, President Biden commuted from Delaware to Washington on Amtrak, so he is familiar with the issue. Last Monday, he remembers walking the length of the tunnel, which was lit only by string lights and dripping water from the roof.
“There is great concern that a portion of it could collapse,” he said.
The tunnel will be replaced using funding from the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill championed by the Democratic president, who plans to visit on Monday to discuss the enormous expenditure.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Governor Wes Moore, Maryland Senators Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen, and other leaders will join Mr. Biden in Baltimore.
When completed in around a decade, the new tunnel is anticipated to include two tracks and allow trains to travel at speeds above 100 mph. According to the White House, speed and capacity gains resulting from tunnel replacement would save roughly seven hours of weekday train delays and save rail users approximately 450,000 hours annually.
Frederick Douglass, who escaped from slavery in Maryland and became a notable abolitionist, will be honored with the naming of the new tunnel. The entire project, which includes the renovation of bridges and equipment, might cost $6 billion.
According to the White House, Mr. Biden wants to announce labor agreements designed to expedite the tunnel’s completion and secure high compensation for union workers. According to the White House, the project will produce an estimated 30,000 jobs, including approximately 20,000 construction jobs that do not require a college degree. Additionally, Maryland has promised to provide $450 million for construction.
No funds have yet been allocated from the federal infrastructure bill. However, the measure signed by Vice President Biden provides $24 billion for train improvements throughout the Northeast Corridor, and up to $4.7 billion might be granted for the Baltimore tunnel, which would pay the majority of its cost.
Gregg Weaver, 69, met Vice President Biden during his 42-year tenure as an Amtrak conductor. When he worked the morning shift on a southbound train, they were sometimes forced to wait at the Baltimore Penn Station due to tunnel problems.
How does it look? Mr. Biden would inquire as he considered his Capitol Hill schedule.
“The tunnel can really complicate the whole thing,” Weaver, who retired in 2013, stated in 2013. There is a congestion.
Regarding Mr. Biden, Weaver stated, “he rode so much, he probably experienced everything there is to experience,”
This week, Mr. Biden will make two infrastructure-related excursions, the first to Baltimore. He will travel to Major York on Tuesday to discuss plans for a second new rail tunnel, this one beneath the Hudson River.
Mr. Biden stated, “It’s going to cut commute times, improve safety, make travel more reliable,”
Before the COVID-19 outbreak, around 200,000 people traveled through the existing tunnel, which was completed 113 years ago, every workday. However, because there are just two tracks, any repair or malfunction has the potential to significantly impede transport.
In addition to constructing a new tunnel, the project would refurbish the old one. The corrosive salt water that poured in during Hurricane Sandy in 2012 caused damage.
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