The $16.1 billion Hudson River Tunnel project to build a rail crossing between New York City and northern New Jersey is moving forward with a $6.9 billion Federal Transit Administration capital investment grant . On July 8, the US Department of Transportation, the FTA Development Commission and Gateway announced the signing of the grant agreement, plus $4.1 billion in low-interest loans.
The plan calls for 2.4 miles of two-tube tunnel with an outside diameter of 28 feet between North Bergen, NJ and Manhattan, in addition to the construction of a concrete shell at Hudson Yards on the New York side, the stabilization on behalf of the river bed and other associates. infrastructure works, including a total of 9 miles of new runway. The 114-year-old North River Tunnel, which was damaged by flooding during Superstorm Sandy in 2012, will be rehabilitated after the new tunnel is completed.
The FTA grant, which is the largest yet awarded through the program, is in addition to the federal portion of the project funding with money from the Jobs and Infrastructure Investment Act of 2021. It is based on $3.8 billion dollars from the Department of Transportation’s Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail grant program and a $1 billion grant from Amtrak, for a projected local cost share of 70 percent federal and 30 percent.
The three recently announced rail improvement and rehabilitation financing loans from the Department of Transportation’s Build America Bureau will help New York, New Jersey and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey finance the local share of the cost of the project with an interest lower than the market. rates
The funding milestone marks the culmination of nearly two years of work since Gateway took over as project sponsor, CEO Kris Kolluri said in a statement.
“After years of planning and persistence, the days of uncertainty for the Hudson Tunnel project are finally behind us,” he said.
The tunnel would serve Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor and NJ Transit. Gateway expects the new tunnel to be in service by 2035 and the existing tunnel rehabilitation to be completed by 2038.
“As the primary user of the current tunnels, no one knows better than NJ Transit and our users about the desperate need for new tunnels,” Kevin Corbett, president and CEO of the transit agency, said in a statement.
Map courtesy Gateway Development CommissionEarlier this year, Gateway selected MPA Delivery Partners, a joint venture between Mace North America Ltd., Parsons Corp. and Arcadis of New York Inc., as the project delivery partner.
Work is already underway on parts of the project, including construction of the concrete shells at Hudson Yards led by The Related Cos. and the construction of a road bridge to clear a path for the railway footprint leading to the future western tunnel. portal led by Conti Civil LLC and Naik Consulting Group PC. Weeks Marine Inc. is expected to begin heavy construction on the river bed stabilization in a few weeks.
Gateway has also selected five crews to build the New Jersey side of the tunnel and three crews for the New York side. The central part of the tunnel would be built under a separate yet-to-be-announced contract.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg called the project “one of the cathedrals of American infrastructure,” adding in a statement that it “can demonstrate America’s ability to build great things together in the 21st century”.
