If there is an emergency situation, where Long Islanders have to evacuate. (Think Hurricane.) Is this project worth $55 billion? I'd have to say Yes. However, I don't believe this is a legitimate amount. Someone is Lying.

Westchester to Long Island tunnel would cost up to $55 billion, study shows

CLOSE ALBANY - Gov. Andrew Cuomo this week pledged to continue pursuing a long-discussed plan to build a tunnel from Long Island to Westchester or Connecticut. But it won't come cheap, according to a state-funded study released Friday.

From article, (An 18-mile tunnel from Rye or Port Chester in Westchester to Syosset on Long Island would cost an estimated $31.5 to $55.4 billion, the study found.

A potential tunnel or bridge across the Long Island Sound has been debated for decades, with a state lawmaker first proposing one in the 1930s and the idea picking up steam with Gov. Nelson Rockefeller and master builder Robert Moses in the 1960s.

Various proposals over the years have raised concerns from Westchester residents and officials who fear a tunnel could increase traffic along I-287 and I-95, both of which already have plenty of congestion.

The study centers on various alignments between Oyster Bay, Kings Park and Wading River on Long Island; Rye and Port Chester in Westchester; and Bridgeport, Milford, New Haven and Branford in Connecticut.

 A single tunnel tube with two lanes each way between Oyster Bay and Rye or Port Chester, for example, would carry an estimated $31.5 billion price tag, according to WSP.

 A dual-tube tunnel with three lanes each way would reach $55.4 billion, while a bridge-tunnel hybrid would come in at $43.5 billion.

 A spokesperson for Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy did not immediately return a request for comment Friday.

Years of study are still needed before any tunnel proposal can move ahead, the study found.

At least five years would be needed for scoping and environmental reviews and approvals if Cuomo decides to move forward. After that, at least 1 1/2 years would be needed for the design phase.From there, a crossing could open approximately eight years after the start of construction, according to the study.)

Me, "First of all, there is no way this project costs $55 billion. I want to see the engineers who came up with that figure. You go overseas. You find a bunch of European/Chinese/ or Japanese companies who have built previous tunnels. You get two of them to design the tunnel. You fund one company to start on one end of Connecticut and another one that starts on Long Island. 
You pay them slowly over time, with rewards for each milestone they pass. The quicker they build the tunnel the more money they get. If they fall behind they don't get the rewards.
I am all for U.S. companies building this tunnel, but over time U.S. companies  have built up costs on design and costs on building. And a lot of them end up working for the DOT. You have to turn to the worlds construction companies and see who can build this tunnel on the cheap. As we have seen with the MTA: only two companies bid on jobs and this leads to run away costs. If a tunnel project like this was opened up to the world's best construction companies, U.S. companies would have to shape up or go out of business. 

$55 Billion? I want to meet the engineers who came up with that figure. They are either in the pocket of Unions waiting to benefit or they are engineers who do not believe in this project and are trying to sabotage the project before it even gets going.

Which is why the preliminary design for this project should not have been laid out by the DOT. A team of tunnel designers from Europe / China/ and Japan should have taken the engineering specs and given a pre-design proposal. The DOT is supposed to give a non-biased figure on how much a tunnel will cost. But did it take into account non-U.S. companies building the tunnel?"