NEW YORK - New York state’s Governor Andrew Cuomo announced on Tuesday a $1 billion project to add a third line to a busy section of the Long Island Rail Road commuter rail service and said officials would also consider building a tunnel connecting Long Island to the mainland. The governor’s announcement at a meeting of local business leaders in Woodbury comes ahead of his annual keynote address next week when Cuomo said he will promise “the largest construction program in the modern history of the state.” Cuomo’s focus on Long Island is part of what he calls a “new paradigm” of regional development plans for New York state. A $5 million feasibility study will look at the possibility of a tunnel connecting Long Island to either the Bronx, New York’s Westchester County or southern Connecticut via the Long Island Sound, a stretch of water separating Long Island from the mainland. Various plans to cross the sound with a bridge or tunnel have been around at least since the 1950s and, if undertaken, would represent one of the most ambitious public infrastructure projects currently underway in the Unites States. Cuomo has cast himself as a governor of big ideas and ambitious infrastructure investments since taking office in 2011. His projects include the Tappan Zee Bridge replacement and the redevelopment of LaGuardia Airport in New York City. Other plans for Long Island include a customs inspection facility at MacArthur Airport to allow international flights and the redevelopment of Republic Airport. A separate $1 million study will look at the potential for a deepwater port at the former Shoreham nuclear power plant, the governor said. The extra track on the Long Island Rail Road is planned for a 9.8-mile (15.8-km) stretch between Floral Park and Hicksville. Past efforts to add an extra track to meet rising passenger numbers have been hampered because the plans would affect heavily developed areas. Cuomo said the current plan would impact far fewer residential homes and businesses compared to prior proposals. It also shortens the planned expansion and would be almost entirely within the railroad’s existing right of way. The governor did not give an exact estimated cost of the project. His office said the “final price will depend on the final results of the outreach and impact studies.” In a separate announcement, Cuomo said he would double funding for the state’s environmental protection fund to $300 million.