On November 12, 2015, officials in New York and New Jersey thought they had struck it rich. They had arranged a 50-50 deal with the federal government in which the feds would pay for half the cost of a new tunnel under the Hudson River, the renovation of Penn Station, and a lot more.

An announcement said the “new federal commitment” included creation of a “development corporation to leverage billions in federal grant and loan funding.” With the estimated cost of the project now at $29 billion, that would mean $14.5 billion coming from Washington. The government loans would come on top of that. The corporation is known as the Gateway Project.