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After years of delays and political wrangling, construction finally began Nov. 3 on the Hudson River Tunnel portion of the Gateway program, a $16.1 billion group of projects that will double the capacity of the Northern Corridor rail segment -east that connects New Jersey and New York City. President Joe Biden in January called Gateway “one of the biggest, the most important projects in the country.”
The federal government in November pledged to cover 70% of the cost and donated the project $3.8 billion from the Jobs and Infrastructure Investment Act. That’s good news for local politicians, who have warned the decaying century-old tunnel is a bottleneck for New Jersey commuters and Amtrak passengers.
“I have long warned that the potential failure of one or both of the only rail tunnels that run under the Hudson River is one of the most pressing issues facing New York City at this time, and that is why I have worked so much for moving it forward. project, critics and federal funds in New York at full speed,” said US Senator Chuck Schumer of New York at a press conference on November 3.
Superstorm Sandy badly damaged the tunnel in 2012, flooding it with millions of gallons of salt water, leading to train shutdowns, signal malfunctions and delays.
The road to increasing capacity on this stretch of rail has been bumpy. In 2010, work began on a similar project called Access to the Region’s Core. New Jersey’s then-Gov. Chris Christie canceled the project later that year, citing his expense. If work had gone ahead, the tunnel would have cost $8.7 billion and would most likely have been open and in use, according to The New York Times. Former President Donald Trump killed another attempt to build the project while in office, but found a supporter in Biden.
Contracts awarded for works
Overall, the Hudson River Tunnel project will create nine miles (4.5 miles each way) of a new two-track rail tunnel connecting New York and New Jersey, and rehabilitate the existing North River Tunnel, which opened in 1910 and carries more than 450 Amtrak and NJ Transit trains each day.
There are many components of the overall Gateway projectincluding:
- New tunnel under the Hudson River.
- Rehabilitation of the existing tunnel.
- New tracks and platforms at New York-Penn Station.
- New Portal North and South Bridges over the Hackensack River in New Jersey.
- Loop track construction in Secaucus.
- Replacing Sawtooth Bridges.
The Gateway program is a series of rail infrastructure projects that will improve the most congested 10-mile section of the Northeast Corridor, increasing resiliency and doubling the capacity of passenger trains under the Hudson River to Penn Station in New York.
Courtesy of Amtrak
Work is now underway on both sides of the Hudson River. The new Portal Bridge and tunnel program is part of the first phase of the Gateway project. Excavation of the tunnel is expected to begin in 2025 and the overall project is expected to be completed in 2035.
In New York, some of the work that began in 2013 on the Hudson Yards Concrete Casing project has been completed, with two of the three completed. The third shell will provide the Hudson River Tunnel connection to the new Penn Station.
This $649 million project includes the expansion of the shell, which will be 500 feet long, 60 feet wide and 60 feet high and will be of heavily reinforced concrete and a waterproof membrane to cover its perimeter, until where it will link to the new tunnel. This phase should be completed in the summer of 2026.
Work on the New Jersey side begins with the Tonnelle avenue bridge and public services relocation project, which received notice to proceed this month. This phase involves moving Tonnelle Avenue, a road in North Bergen, New Jersey, that carries US Routes 1 and 9 through Hudson County. The project includes the relocation of utilities and the new construction of a road bridge to carry the freeway, to make way for the new tunnels, according to the Gateway Development Commission.
In September, the GDC awarded contracts worth $47.3 million to Naik Consulting Group for construction management and professional services, and to Conti Civil for construction to build what will be a flyover for the new tunnel Both are based in Edison, New Jersey.
Opportunities to deal with billions of jobs
Five of the nine packages that make up the Hudson Tunnel portion of the project will be under construction or procurement by the end of 2023, according to the GDC. On November 20, Amtrak and NJ Transit announced the start of procurement for the Sawtooth Bridge Replacement Project.
In August, the companies were shortlisted for the Hudson River Soil Stabilization contract, which involves work to strengthen and stabilize the New York side of the Hudson River bed. Proposals must be submitted by the end of the year. Contracts for the Palisades Tunnel and the Manhattan Tunnel are also in the procurement phase, and the GDC is in the RFP phase to secure a delivery partner to accelerate the planning, scheduling, design, management and construction management of the project
Stephen Sigmund, head of public outreach for the Gateway Development Commission, said interested contractors should keep an eye on the agency “Work with us” page on its website, which includes job announcements and community engagement activities.
“It’s an opportunity to participate [a consequential project] and be a part of rebuilding the nation’s infrastructure,” Sigmund said.
