drivers heading into Midtown Manhattan may have to Shell out an extra 15 bucks starting next spring as part of the highly anticipated and controversial congestion pricing plan New York City's traffic Mobility review board today revealed recommendations for the pricing which is lower than what was originally proposed but it'll still hit New Jersey drivers hard the move is meant to discourage driving south of 60th Street which is always jammed but the news eclipsed another major transportation announcement today shovels finally in the ground on the long delayed Gateway tunnel project which could give drivers who are now going to have to reach deeper into their pockets more mass transit options senior correspondent Brenda Flanigan reports it feels so far off from what is fair right now I'm I don't know Governor Murphy pan recommended congestion pricing rates that would charge cars headed into Manhattan's Central business district an extra 15 bucks on top of of regular tolls and trucks even more it's an effort to control traffic jams and vehicle pollution and raise money for the MTA but Murphy called it illc conceived and it's ripping off New Jersey commuters to pay for whatever Financial failings the MTA has we're considering all of our options including further legal action you got hardworking families going get whacked with a new uh you know $15 a day tax on top of the $17 they pay to go over the the Bri through the tunnels plus parking plus gas you you know talking about a fortune the transportation Mobility review board recommended daytime congestion pricing rates of 15 bucks a car with a big discount for overnight hours $24 for small trucks and $36 for big rigs as for discounts it proposed $5 for cars taking the Lincoln Holland Queens midtown or Brooklyn Battery tunnels but no discounts for the George Washington Bridge the board says it weighed both sides we know that this a controversial issue but uh but we really did uh try to strike a uh a balance of of of fairness chairman Carl weisbrod says the board unanimously approved these recommendations to the MTA he added they're designed to push trucks to opt for discounted overnight Crossings but critics charge big diesel rigs might seek to bypass the congestion pricing District entirely but of course you're going to have all these trucks try to avoid New York City go to the outer Burrows in northern New Jersey and the GW Bridge and and you're going to have all this cancer causing toxins release that was a balance for us um we do want to see truck traffic coming into the CBD go down but at the same time we don't want to see it go down at the expense of of lowincome communities Mash Transit Advocates doubt trucks will divert to new routes to avoid the extra toll I don't know who would make that decision to try to toll shop over the GW when it's already slammed um that's not really what I think is going to happen I think folks are going to be disincentivized from driving and hopefully they'll be looking to New Jersey Transit congestion pricing Advocates claim higher tolls will help move folks out of their cars and onto mass transit talk about timing one of the Region's biggest passenger rail projects got its official Jersey kickoff today 1 two 3 officials broke ground for the Gateway project along Tunnell Avenue where a bridge built over the roadway will let Rail lines connect to the New Hudson River tunnels these tunnels are more than portals of concrete and rebar they're portals of opportunity folks celebrated after a decade of fit starts and stalls Gateway looks like it's finally underway the Buy bid administration's recent promise to kick in another 3.8 billion in funding help boost the federal share up from half to More than 70% of gateway's 16 billion price tag Amtrak's chair Tony koshia says if Mass transits properly built folks will ride it we are 15 to 20% on the northeast carer ahead of where we were pre pandemic there is no question that there is a hunger and a demand for strong efficient safe reliable passenger rail service NJ transit's Rail ridership still lags at 70 to 80% of pre-co levels the new tunnels won't be built until 2035 in North Bergen I'm Brenda Flanagan andj Spotlight news