Chapter 47 of the laws of 1931 relating to
bridges and tunnels in New York and New Jersey.
Section 1. The state of New Jersey by appropriate legislation
concurring herein, the states of New York and New Jersey hereby declare
and agree that the vehicular traffic moving across the interstate waters
within the port of New York district, created by the compact of April
thirty, nineteen hundred twenty-one, between the said states, which said
phrase "interstate waters" as used in this act shall include the portion
of the Hudson river within the said port of New York district north of
the New Jersey state line, constitutes a general movement of traffic
which follows the most accessible and practicable routes, and that the
users of each bridge or tunnel over or under the said waters benefit by
the existence of every other bridge or tunnel since all such bridges and
tunnels as a group facilitate the movement of such traffic and relieve
congestion at each of the several bridges and tunnels. Accordingly the
two said states, in the interest of the users of such bridges and
tunnels and the general public, hereby agree that the construction,
maintenance, operation and control of all such bridges and tunnels,
heretofore or hereafter authorized by the two said states, shall be
unified under the port of New York authority (hereinafter called the
port authority), to the end that the tolls and other revenues therefrom
shall be applied so far as practicable to the costs of the construction,
maintenance and operation of said bridges and tunnels as a group and
economies in operation effected, it being the policy of the two said
states that such bridges and tunnels shall as a group be in all respects
self-sustaining.
In furtherance of the aforesaid policy, and in partial
effectuation of the comprehensive plan heretofore adopted by the two
said states for the development of the said port of New York district,
the control, operation, tolls and other revenues of the vehicular
tunnel, known as the Holland tunnel, under the Hudson river between the
city of Jersey City and the city of New York, shall be vested in the
port authority as hereinafter provided; and the port authority is hereby
authorized and empowered to construct, own, maintain and operate an
interstate vehicular crossing under the Hudson river to consist of three
tubes (hereinafter called the Midtown Hudson tunnel), together with such
approaches thereto and connections with highways as the port authority
may deem necessary or desirable.
The port authority shall from time to time make studies, surveys and
investigations to determine the necessity and practicability of
vehicular bridges and tunnels over or under interstate waters within the
said port of New York district, in addition to the said Midtown Hudson
tunnel and Holland tunnel and to the George Washington bridge, Goethals
bridge, Outerbridge Crossing and Bayonne bridge, and report to the
governors and legislatures of the two states thereon. The port authority
shall not proceed with the construction of any such additional vehicular
bridges and tunnels over or under said interstate waters until hereafter
expressly authorized by the two said states, but the second deck of the
George Washington bridge shall be considered an addition and improvement
to the said bridge and not such an additional vehicular bridge, and the
port authority's power and authorization to construct, own, maintain and
operate said second deck for highway vehicular or rail rapid transit
traffic or both is hereby acknowledged and confirmed.
Except as may be agreed upon between the port authority and the
municipality in which they shall be located, the approaches to the
George Washington bridge hereafter constructed on the New York side
shall be located as follows: between Amsterdam avenue and Pinehurst
avenue, the approaches shall be located between west One hundred
seventy-eighth street and west One hundred seventy-ninth street; between
Pinehurst avenue and Cabrini boulevard, the approaches shall be between
west One hundred seventy-eighth street and west One hundred eightieth
street; between Cabrini boulevard and Haven avenue, the approaches shall
be between west One hundred seventy-seventh street and the line parallel
to the northerly side of west One hundred eightieth street and one
hundred twenty-five feet north of the building line on the north side
thereof; between Haven avenue and Service street north of the George
Washington bridge, the approaches shall be between the bridge and an
extension of the building line on the northerly side of west One hundred
eightieth street. Except as so limited, the port authority may
effectuate such approaches, connections, highway extensions or highway
improvements as it shall deem necessary or desirable in relation to the
George Washington bridge, located in or extending across the counties in
which such bridge is located, and, in its discretion, may do so by
agreement with any other public agency; such agreement may provide for
the construction, ownership, maintenance or operation of such
approaches, connections or highway extensions or highway improvements by
such other public agency.
* § 2-a. The port authority shall inspect bridges located within the
state of New York and under the authority's jurisdiction in accordance
with criteria established for other publicly-owned bridges within the
state.
* NB Effective upon passage by the state of New Jersey.
The entrances, exits and approaches to the said Midtown Hudson
tunnel, on the New York side, shall be between West Thirty-fifth street
and West Forty-first street and in the vicinity of Ninth avenue and to
the west thereof, in the borough of Manhattan, city of New York. The
approaches to the said Midtown Hudson tunnel on the New Jersey side
shall be so located and constructed as to permit tunnel traffic to pass
over or under the tracks of the New York, Susquehanna and Western
Railroad Company and the Northern Railroad Company of New Jersey,
immediately west of the Palisades, without crossing the said tracks at
grade, and as to permit connections with New Jersey state highway routes
in the vicinity of the said tracks. The said Midtown Hudson tunnel shall
have an appropriate entrance and exit in the township of Weehawken,
county of Hudson, state of New Jersey.
The port authority shall, so far as it deems it practicable,
treat as a single unified operation the construction, maintenance and
operation of the said Midtown Hudson tunnel, the said Holland tunnel,
the two vehicular bridges over the Arthur Kill, the vehicular bridge
over the Kill van Kull, the vehicular bridge over the Hudson river at
Fort Lee, and any other vehicular bridges or tunnels which it may
construct or operate, raising moneys for the construction thereof and
for the making of additions and improvements thereto in whole or in part
upon its own obligations, and establishing and levying such tolls and
other charges as it may deem necessary to secure from all of such
bridges and tunnels as a group, at least sufficient revenue to meet the
expenses of the construction, maintenance and operation of such bridges
and tunnels as a group, and to provide for the payment of the interest
upon and amortization and retirement of and the fulfillment of the terms
of all bonds and other securities and obligations which it may have
issued or incurred in connection therewith.
The additions and improvements to bridges and tunnels constructed or
operated by it which the port authority is hereby authorized to
effectuate shall include but not be limited to parking facilities, by
which is meant transportation facilities consisting of one or more
areas, buildings, structures, improvements, or other accommodations or
appurtenances necessary, convenient or desirable in the opinion of the
port authority for the parking or storage of motor vehicles of users of
such bridges and tunnels and other members of the general public and for
the transfer of the operators and passengers of such motor vehicles to
and from omnibuses and other motor vehicles operated by carriers over or
through such bridges or tunnels, and for purposes incidental thereto.
Nothing herein contained shall be deemed to prevent the port authority
from establishing, levying and collecting tolls and other charges in
connection with any parking facility in addition to and other than the
tolls or charges established, levied and collected in connection with
the bridge or tunnel to which such parking facility is an addition and
improvement or any other bridge or tunnel.
The port authority shall not proceed with the construction of any
parking facility as an addition and improvement to any bridge or tunnel
other than a parking facility in the township of North Bergen in the
state of New Jersey at or in the vicinity of the Midtown Hudson tunnel
and its approaches and connections, except as heretofore or hereafter
expressly authorized.
The port authority is hereby authorized and empowered, in its
discretion, to construct, own, maintain and operate in Washington
Heights in the borough of Manhattan, New York city, as an addition and
improvement to the vehicular bridge over the Hudson river at Fort Lee,
known as and hereinafter in this section referred to as the George
Washington bridge, a bus passenger facility, by which is meant a
facility consisting of one or more buildings, structures, improvements,
loading or unloading areas, parking areas or other facilities necessary,
convenient or desirable in the opinion of the port authority for the
accommodation of omnibuses and other motor vehicles operated by carriers
engaged in the transportation of passengers, or for the loading,
unloading, interchange or transfer of such passengers or their baggage,
or otherwise for the accommodation, use or convenience of such
passengers or such carriers or their employees and for purposes
incidental thereto.
Nothing herein contained shall be deemed to prevent the port authority
from establishing, levying and collecting tolls and other charges in
connection with such bus passenger facility in addition to and other
than the tolls or charges established, levied and collected in
connection with the George Washington bridge or any other bridge or
tunnel.
The control, operation, tolls and other revenues of the said
Holland tunnel and its entrance and exit plazas and of all real and
personal property appurtenant thereto or used in connection therewith,
shall vest in the port authority upon the making of the following
payments by the port authority to each of the said two states:
(a) An amount equal to the moneys contributed by such state toward the
cost of construction of the said Holland tunnel, with interest thereon
at the rate of four and one-quarter percentum per annum from the date or
dates on which such moneys were contributed by such state to the date of
the payment to such state;
(b) Less, however, the share of such state in the net revenues of the
said tunnel to the date of the said payment, and less interest on such
net revenues at the rate of four and one-quarter percentum per annum
from the dates on which the said net revenues were received by such
state to the date of the said payment;
(c) And in the case of the payment to the state of New York, less an
amount equal to the moneys which the said state has agreed to advance to
the port authority (but which have not as yet been advanced to the port
authority) in aid of bridge construction, during the fiscal years
commencing in nineteen hundred thirty-one and nineteen hundred
thirty-two, pursuant to chapter seven hundred and sixty-one of the laws
of New York of nineteen hundred twenty-six and chapter three hundred of
the laws of New York of nineteen hundred twenty-seven and acts
amendatory thereof and supplemental thereto, discounted, however, in the
case of each advance at the rate of four and one-quarter per centum per
annum, from the date of the said payment to the state of New York to the
date upon which such advance is to be available pursuant to the
aforesaid statutes.
In computing interest as aforesaid upon the moneys contributed by each
of the said two states toward the cost of construction of the said
Holland tunnel, such moneys shall be deemed to have been contributed by
such state upon the first day of the month following the month during
which there were presented to the comptroller of such state for audit
and payment, the schedules and vouchers pursuant to which such moneys
were paid. In computing interest as aforesaid upon the net revenues
received by each of the said two states, such net revenues shall be
deemed to have been received by such state upon the date when such
revenues were credited to such state or to the commission of such state
pursuant to paragraph eleven of article fourteen of the compact of
December thirty, nineteen hundred nineteen, between the two said states.
If the amount paid by the port authority to the state of New
Jersey pursuant to the preceding section of this act shall be less than
an amount which, together with the moneys then in the sinking fund
established by chapter three hundred and fifty-two of the laws of New
Jersey of nineteen hundred twenty and chapter two hundred and sixty-two
of the laws of New Jersey of nineteen hundred twenty-four, hereinafter
called the New Jersey Camden bridge-Holland tunnel sinking fund (other
than moneys set apart to pay interest for the then current year upon the
bonds of the state of New Jersey authorized by the aforesaid acts of the
state of New Jersey, hereinafter called New Jersey Camden bridge-Holland
tunnel bonds), will be equal to the principal amount of the then
outstanding New Jersey Camden bridge-Holland tunnel bonds, then and in
such event, the port authority shall in addition pay to the state of New
Jersey an amount which, together with the amount paid under and pursuant
to the preceding section hereof and the moneys then in said New Jersey
Camden bridge-Holland tunnel sinking fund, will be equal to the
principal amount of the then outstanding New Jersey Camden
bridge-Holland tunnel bonds; and shall, moreover, pay to the state of
New York a like amount.
The amount payable by the port authority to the state of New York
pursuant to sections five and six of this act shall be paid by the port
authority into the treasury of the state of New York upon the thirtieth
day of June, nineteen hundred thirty-one, or at an earlier date at the
option of the port authority on five days' notice to the comptroller of
the state of New York, upon a voucher signed and audited by the said
comptroller, who is hereby authorized to consummate the said
transaction.
The amount payable by the port authority to the state of New
Jersey pursuant to sections five and six of this act shall be paid by
the port authority to the sinking fund commission created by said
chapter three hundred and fifty-two of the laws of New Jersey of
nineteen hundred twenty and said chapter two hundred and sixty-two of
the laws of New Jersey of nineteen hundred twenty-four, hereinafter
called the New Jersey Camden bridge-Holland tunnel sinking fund
commission upon the thirtieth day of June, nineteen hundred thirty-one,
or such other date as may be agreed upon by the said sinking fund
commission and the port authority, upon a voucher signed and audited by
the said sinking fund commission, which said commission is hereby
authorized to consummate said transaction; and the said moneys shall be
deposited in the said New Jersey Camden bridge-Holland tunnel sinking
fund, and shall for all purposes be deemed to be a part thereof and
subject to the appropriation of the moneys in the said sinking fund,
made by the aforesaid statutes of the state of New Jersey.
The income and interest received from or accruing upon the moneys in
the aforesaid New Jersey Camden bridge-Holland tunnel sinking fund, and
from the investment thereof, shall be set apart and held by the said New
Jersey Camden bridge-Holland tunnel sinking fund commission for the
payment of interest on New Jersey Camden bridge-Holland tunnel bonds,
and shall be subject to the appropriation made of moneys so set apart
and held, by the aforesaid statutes of the state of New Jersey, and
shall be applied to the payment of such interest.
Upon the making of the foregoing payments by the port authority
to the two said states, the provisions of the compact of December
thirty, nineteen hundred nineteen, between the said two states, relating
to the construction and operation of the said Holland tunnel, as
amended, so far as inconsistent herewith or with the rules, practice and
procedure or general authority of the port authority, shall be and shall
be deemed to be abrogated; and chapter four hundred and twenty-one of
the laws of New York of nineteen hundred thirty, and chapter two hundred
and forty-seven of the laws of New Jersey of nineteen hundred thirty,
making the port authority the agent of the two states in connection with
the operation of the said Holland tunnel shall cease to be effective.
The plans of the connections with state or municipal highways of
any vehicular bridge or tunnel which the port authority may hereafter
construct (including the plans of any additional connections of existing
bridges or tunnels with state or municipal highways), shall be subject
to the approval of the governor of the state in which such connections
shall be located. Either state may require by appropriate legislation
that such connections shall be subject to the approval of the
municipality of that state in which they shall be located; and in such
event, the approval of such municipality shall be given as provided in
article twelve of the said compact of April thirty, nineteen hundred
twenty-one. Except as limited herein, the port authority shall determine
all matters pertaining to such bridges and tunnels.
The port authority is hereby authorized to make and enforce such
rules and regulations and to establish, levy and collect such tolls and
other charges in connection with any vehicular bridges and tunnels which
it may now or hereafter be authorized to own, construct, operate or
control (including the said Holland tunnel and the said Midtown Hudson
tunnel), as it may deem necessary, proper or desirable, which said tolls
and charges shall be at least sufficient to meet the expenses of the
construction, operation and maintenance thereof, and to provide for the
payment of, with interest upon, and the amortization and retirement of
bonds or other securities or obligations issued or incurred for bridge
or tunnel purposes. There shall be allocated to the cost of the
construction, operation and maintenance of such bridges and tunnels,
such proportion of the general expenses of the port authority as it
shall deem properly chargeable thereto.
The moneys in the general reserve fund of the port authority
(authorized by chapter five of the laws of New Jersey of nineteen
hundred thirty-one, as amended, and chapter forty-eight of the laws of
New York of nineteen hundred thirty-one, as amended) may be pledged in
whole or in part by the port authority as security for or applied by it
to the repayment with interest of any moneys which it may raise upon
bonds or other securities or obligations issued or incurred from time to
time for any of the purposes of this act or secured in whole or in part
by the pledge of the revenues of the port authority from any bridge or
tunnel or both so issued or incurred and so secured; and the moneys in
said general reserve fund may be applied by the port authority to the
fulfillment of any other undertakings which it may assume to or for the
benefit of the holders of any such bonds, securities or other
obligations.
Subject to prior liens and pledges (and to the obligation of the port
authority to apply revenues to the maintenance of its general reserve
fund in the amount prescribed by the said statutes authorizing said
fund), the revenues of the port authority from facilities established,
constructed, acquired or effectuated through the issuance or sale of
bonds of the port authority secured by a pledge of its general reserve
fund may be pledged in whole or in part as security for or applied by it
to the repayment with interest of any moneys which it may raise upon
bonds or other securities or obligations issued or incurred from time to
time for any of the purposes of this act or secured in whole or in part
by the pledge of the revenues of the port authority from any bridge or
tunnel or both so issued or incurred and so secured, and said revenues
may be applied by the port authority to the fulfillment of any other
undertakings which it may assume to or for the benefit of the holders of
such bonds, securities or other obligations.
In the event that at any time the balance of moneys theretofore paid
into the general reserve fund and not applied therefrom shall exceed an
amount equal to one-tenth of the par value of all bonds legal for
investment, as defined and limited in the said statutes authorizing said
fund, issued by the port authority and currently outstanding at such
time, by reason of the retirement of bonds or other securities or
obligations issued or incurred from time to time for any of the purposes
of this act or secured in whole or in part by the pledge of the revenues
of the port authority from any bridge or tunnel or both so issued or
incurred and so secured, the par value of which had theretofore been
included in the computation of said one-tenth, then the port authority
may pledge or apply such excess for and only for the purposes for which
it is authorized by the said statutes authorizing said fund to pledge
the moneys in the general reserve fund and such pledge may be made in
advance of the time when such excess may occur.
The two said states covenant and agree with each other and with
the holders of any bonds or other securities or obligations of the port
authority, issued or incurred for bridge or tunnel purposes and as
security for which there may or shall be pledged the tolls and revenues
or any part thereof of any vehicular bridge or tunnel (including the
said Holland tunnel and the said Midtown Hudson tunnel), that the two
said states will not, so long as any of such bonds or other obligations
remain outstanding and unpaid, diminish or impair the power of the port
authority to establish, levy and collect tolls and other charges in
connection therewith; and that the two said states will not, so long as
any of such bonds or other obligations remain outstanding and unpaid,
authorize the construction of any vehicular bridges or tunnels over or
under interstate waters as herein defined within the said port of New
York district, by any person or body other than the port authority, in
competition with those whose tolls or other revenues are pledged as
aforesaid; provided that nothing herein contained shall be deemed to
refer to the bridge authorized by the act of congress of July eleven,
eighteen hundred ninety, chapter six hundred and sixty-nine, and acts
amendatory thereof and supplemental thereto; and provided further that
nothing herein contained shall preclude the authorization of the
construction of such competitive tunnels or bridges by other persons or
bodies if and when adequate provision shall be made by law for the
protection of those advancing money upon such obligations.
The bonds or other securities or obligations which may be issued
or incurred by the port authority pursuant to this act, or as security
for which there may be pledged the tolls and other revenues or any part
thereof of any vehicular bridge or tunnel (including the said Holland
tunnel and the said Midtown Hudson tunnel) now or hereafter authorized
by the two said states or both so issued or incurred and so secured, are
hereby made securities in which all state and municipal officers and
bodies, all banks, bankers, trust companies, savings banks, savings and
loan associations, investment companies and other persons carrying on a
banking business, all insurance companies, insurance associations and
other persons carrying on an insurance business, and all administrators,
executors, guardians, trustees and other fiduciaries and all other
persons whatsoever who are now or may hereafter be authorized to invest
in bonds or other obligations of the state, may properly and legally
invest any funds, including capital, belonging to them or within their
control; and said bonds or other securities or obligations are hereby
made securities which may properly and legally be deposited with and
shall be received by any state or municipal officer or agency for any
purpose for which the deposit of bonds or other obligations of this
state is now or may hereafter be authorized.
The construction, maintenance and operation of vehicular bridges
and tunnels within the said port of New York district (including the
said Holland tunnel and the said Midtown Hudson tunnel), are and will be
in all respects for the benefit of the people of the states of New York
and New Jersey, for the increase of their commerce and prosperity and
for the improvement of their health and living conditions; and the port
authority shall be regarded as performing an essential governmental
function in undertaking the construction, maintenance and operation
thereof and in carrying out the provisions of law relating thereto, and
shall be required to pay no taxes or assessments upon any of the
property acquired or used by it for such purposes.
If for any of the purposes of this act (including temporary
construction purposes, and the making of additions or improvements to
bridges or tunnels already constructed), the port authority shall find
it necessary or convenient to acquire any real property as herein
defined, whether for immediate or future use, the port authority may
find and determine that such property, whether a fee simple absolute or
a lesser interest, is required for a public use, and upon such
determination, the said property shall be and shall be deemed to be
required for such public use until otherwise determined by the port
authority; and with the exceptions hereinafter specifically noted, the
said determination shall not be affected by the fact that such property
has theretofore been taken for, or is then devoted to, a public use; but
the public use in the hands or under the control of the port authority
shall be deemed superior to the public use in the hands of any other
person, association or corporation.
The port authority may acquire and is hereby authorized to acquire
such property, whether a fee simple absolute or a lesser interest, by
the exercise of the right of eminent domain under and pursuant to the
provisions of the eminent domain procedure law of the state of New York,
in the case of property located in such state, and revised statutes of
New Jersey, Title 20:1-1 et seq., in the case of property located in
such state, or at the option of the port authority as provided in
section fifteen of chapter forty-three of the laws of New Jersey of
nineteen hundred forty-seven, as amended, for the condemnation of real
property for air terminal purposes, in the case of property located in
such state, or pursuant to such other and alternate procedure as may be
provided by law.
Where a person entitled to an award in the proceedings to acquire any
real property for any of the purposes of this act, remains in possession
of such property after the time of the vesting of title in the port
authority, the reasonable value of his use and occupancy of such
property subsequent to such time, as fixed by agreement or by the court
in such proceedings or by any court of competent jurisdiction, shall be
a lien against such award, subject only to liens of record at the time
of the vesting of title in the port authority.
Nothing herein contained shall be construed to prohibit the port
authority from bringing any proceedings to remove a cloud on title or
such other proceedings as it may, in its discretion, deem proper and
necessary, or from acquiring any such property by negotiation or
purchase.
Anything in this act to the contrary notwithstanding, no
property now or hereafter vested in or held by any county, city,
borough, village, township or other municipality shall be taken by the
port authority, without the authority or consent of such county, city,
borough, village, township or other municipality as provided in said
compact of April thirty, nineteen hundred twenty-one, provided that the
state in which such county, city, borough, village, township or other
municipality is located may authorize such property to be taken by the
port authority by condemnation or the exercise of the right of eminent
domain without such authority or consent; nor shall anything herein
impair or invalidate in any way any bonded indebtedness of the state, or
such county, city, borough, village, township or other municipality, nor
impair the provisions of law regulating the payment into sinking funds
of revenue derived from municipal property, or dedicating the revenues
derived from municipal property, to a specific purpose. The port
authority is hereby authorized and empowered to acquire from any such
county, city, borough, village, township or other municipality, or from
any other public agency or commission having jurisdiction in the
premises, by agreement therewith, and such county, city, borough,
village, township, municipality, public agency or commission,
notwithstanding any contrary provision of law, is hereby authorized and
empowered to grant and convey upon reasonable terms and conditions, any
real property, which may be necessary for the construction, operation
and maintenance of such bridges and tunnels, including such real
property as has already been devoted to a public use. Each of the two
said states hereby consent to the use and occupation of the real
property of such state necessary for the construction, operation and
maintenance of bridges and tunnels constructed or operated pursuant to
the provisions of this act, including lands of the state lying under
water.
The port authority and its duly authorized agents and employees
may enter upon any land in this state for the purpose of making such
surveys, maps, or other examinations thereof as it may deem necessary or
convenient for the purposes of this act.
The term "real property" as used in this act is defined to
include lands, structures, franchises, and interests in land, including
lands under water and riparian rights, and any and all things and rights
usually included within the said term, and includes not only fees simple
absolute but also any and all lesser interests, such as easements,
rights of way, uses, leases, licenses and all other incorporeal
hereditaments and every estate, interest or right, legal or equitable,
including terms of years, and liens thereon by way of judgments,
mortgages or otherwise, and also claims for damage to real estate.
Nothing herein contained shall be construed to authorize or
permit the port authority to undertake the construction of any vehicular
bridge or tunnel over or under the Arthur Kill, unless or until adequate
provision has been made by law for the protection of those advancing
money upon the obligations of the port authority for the construction of
the bridges mentioned in chapter two hundred and ten of the laws of
nineteen hundred twenty-five, or the construction of any vehicular
bridge or tunnel over or under the Hudson river, at or north of Sixtieth
street in the borough of Manhattan, city of New York, unless or until
adequate provision has been made by law for the protection of those
advancing money upon the obligations of the port authority for the
construction of the bridge mentioned in chapter seven hundred and
sixty-one of the laws of nineteen hundred twenty-six, or the
construction of any vehicular bridge or tunnel over or under the Kill
van Kull unless or until adequate provision has been made by law for the
protection of those advancing money upon the obligations of the port
authority for the construction of the bridge mentioned in chapter three
hundred of the laws of nineteen hundred twenty-seven.
This section and the preceding sections hereof, except section
eighteen, constitute an agreement between the states of New York and New
Jersey supplementary to the compact between the two states dated April
thirty, nineteen hundred twenty-one, and amendatory thereof, and shall
be liberally construed to effectuate the purposes of said compact and of
the comprehensive plan heretofore adopted by the two states, and any
powers granted to the port authority by this act shall be deemed to be
in aid of and supplementary to and in no case a limitation upon the
powers heretofore vested in the port authority by the two said states
and/or by congress, except as herein otherwise provided.
Any declarations contained in this act with respect to the
governmental nature of bridges and tunnels and to the exemption of
bridge and tunnel property from taxation and to the discretion of the
port authority with respect to bridge and tunnel operations shall not be
construed to imply that other port authority property and operations are
not of a governmental nature, or that they are subject to taxation, or
that the determinations of the port authority with respect thereto are
not conclusive.
The powers vested in the port authority herein (including but not
limited to the powers to acquire real property by condemnation and to
make or effectuate additions, improvements, approaches and connections)
shall be continuing powers and no exercise thereof shall be deemed to
exhaust them or any of them.
Nothing herein contained shall be construed to affect, diminish
or impair the rights and obligations created by, or to repeal any of the
provisions of chapter three hundred and fifty-two of the laws of New
Jersey of nineteen hundred twenty and chapter two hundred and sixty-two
of the laws of New Jersey of nineteen hundred twenty-four.
If, however, any loss shall be suffered by or accrue to the said
sinking fund, and if, after the making of the payment by the port
authority to the state of New Jersey as hereinbefore provided, the
moneys in the said sinking fund shall at any time be or become less than
an amount equal to the principal amount of the then currently
outstanding New Jersey Camden bridge-Holland tunnel bonds, or if the
income and interest currently received from or currently accruing upon
the moneys in the said sinking fund shall be or become insufficient to
pay the interest currently accruing upon or currently payable in
connection with the aforesaid New Jersey Camden bridge-Holland tunnel
bonds, the state of New Jersey represents and agrees that it will make
good such deficits out of sources other than revenues from the said
Holland tunnel.
The said payment by the port authority to the state of New Jersey
constitutes repayment for all moneys contributed by the said state
toward the cost of construction of the said Holland tunnel, including
the moneys diverted and appropriated by chapter three hundred and
nineteen of the laws of New Jersey of nineteen hundred twenty-six and
chapter fifty-eight of the laws of New Jersey of nineteen hundred
twenty-seven from the road fund, created by chapter fifteen of the laws
of New Jersey of nineteen hundred seventeen. The requirement of chapter
fifty-eight of the laws of New Jersey of nineteen hundred twenty-seven
that the said moneys diverted and appropriated by the said statutes of
the state of New Jersey shall be returned and credited to the said road
fund, with interest, shall be and shall be deemed to be satisfied and
discharged so far as it relates to the revenues arising from the
operation of the said Holland tunnel.
The provisions of this section shall constitute a covenant and
agreement by the state of New York with the state of New Jersey, the
port authority and the holders of any bonds or other obligations of the
port authority, as security for which the tolls and revenues of said
Holland tunnel may be pledged.
Nothing herein contained shall be construed to impair in any way
the obligation of the port authority to repay to the two states any or
all advances made by them to the port authority in aid of bridge
construction.
This act shall take effect upon the enactment into law by the
state of New Jersey of legislation having an identical effect with this
act, but if the state of New Jersey shall have already enacted such
legislation this act shall take effect immediately.