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Dive brief:
- The Gateway Development Commission awarded a joint venture Traylor Bros., Walsh and Skanska a $1.29 billion design-bid-build contract to the Hudson Tunnel project, according to a statement Monday.
- The contract, called Package 1C, covers approximately 1.5 miles of twin tunnel boring under the Hudson River, the project’s longest continuous section of excavation.
- The award marks a major milestone after a turbulent stretch for the project, including a funding dispute that forced a contractors to stop the works earlier this year.
Diving knowledge:
The Gateway Development Commission warned last month that construction of the massive infrastructure effort could stop again in a few months no certainty about federal funding.
The Package 1C contract advances the final segment of tunnels under the Hudson River and brings the $16 billion infrastructure program closer to full construction. Six of the 10 construction packages that make up the Hudson Tunnel project are now underway or complete, according to the Gateway Development Commission.
“When we award this contract, every inch of drilling required to build the new tunnels will be under construction,” GDC CEO Tom Prendergast said during a board meeting Monday. “More than half of the Hudson Tunnel Project’s construction packages will be completed or underway. It has taken years of planning and tens of thousands of man-hours to get to this point.”
Part of Package 1C is the third of three construction packages involving the construction of new tunnel tubes. The Palisades Tunnel project is Package 1A and the Manhattan Tunnel project is Package 1B, Prendergast said.
He also said work on the Palisades Tunnel project in North Bergen, New Jersey, continues to take shape as crews prepare for tunnel boring machines, each about 500 feet long.
Meanwhile, at the Manhattan Tunnel project, crews have completed most of the slurry wall and are making progress on soil stabilization efforts, said Jim Starace, GDC’s chief of program delivery. That includes grouting and freezing the ground to create a stable path for TBMs under 12th Avenue, he added.
“We have five projects under construction, and after today’s award, we’ll have six,” Starace said during the meeting. “Progress continues.”
Package 1C marks one of the most technically demanding parts of the project, Starace added.
As part of this segment, Evansville, Ind.-based Traylor, Chicago-based Walsh and New York City-based Skanska USA will drill two parallel tunnel tubes under the Hudson River.
The work will include the installation of around 14,500 segments to form more than 2,400 tunnel rings, along with cross passages connecting the tubes at regular intervals. The scope also involves stabilizing the soil under existing rail infrastructure in New Jersey and supporting nearby structures such as the Willow Avenue Viaduct, Starace said.
“Package 1C is a large and highly technical project,” Starace said during the council meeting. “There are few companies with the resources and technical expertise to take on such a challenging project.”
