NY transit agencies refute Trump’s claim of falling tiles in tunnels

by Melanie Zanona - 02/27/17 4:43 PM ET

New York transit agencies are pushing back against President Trump’s claim that some of the state’s tunnels are in such bad shape that tiles are falling from the ceiling and may pose a threat to public safety.

Speaking to governors at the White House on Monday, Trump promised to spend “big” on infrastructure and expressed concern over the country’s ailing roads, bridges and tunnels, singling out the Lincoln Tunnel and the Queens-Midtown Tunnel in New York.

“Our highways, our bridges are unsafe,” he said. “I mean, we have tunnels in New York where the tiles on the ceiling, you see many tiles missing. … You take a look at the Lincoln Tunnel and the Queens-Midtown Tunnel, and you’re driving and you see all this loose material that’s heavy.”

{mosads} “And I say to myself every time I drive through, I say, ‘Man, I wonder how many people are hurt or injured when they’re driving at 40, 50 miles an hour through a tunnel and a tile falls off,’” Trump added. “So we have to fix our infrastructure.”

But a spokesperson for New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) said the Queens-Midtown Tunnel is undergoing a rehabilitation effort to repair damage from Hurricane Sandy that entails swapping out old tiles for new ones, and ensured that no one has been hurt while driving through the structure.

“Not a single person has been injured by any falling tiles because no tiles are falling — they are being replaced by workers as part of an infrastructure project to repair the tunnel from Hurricane Sandy damage,” said Beth DeFalco, MTA’s director of communications.

Meanwhile, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said there have been no reported incidents of falling tiles in the Lincoln Tunnel and emphasized that it is completely safe to drive through.

“The tile structures in the various Lincoln Tunnel tubes are intact, regularly inspected and pose no danger to the public,” the transit agency said in a statement. “In the last 12 months there have been no reported incidents involving falling tiles.”

Infrastructure advocates say there are still plenty of projects in dire need of repair, including the Brent Spence Bridge that connects Ohio and Kentucky, where there have been reports of falling concrete.