The Gateway Development Commission, which is leading the $16.1 billion Hudson Tunnel project between New Jersey and New York, has launched a board search committee focused on finding a new executive director to lead the organization, it announced GDC on August 14th.
The committee includes Alicia Glen, New York commissioner and co-chair; Balpreet Grewal-Virk, New Jersey Commissioner and Co-Chair; and Tony Coscia, Amtrak Commissioner and Vice President.
“We are conducting a national search and will hire an executive search firm as part of that process,” the three said in a joint statement.
Current GDC CEO Kris Kolluri announced last month that he was stepping down after meeting his goals of securing full funding for the Hudson River Rail Tunnel project and bringing it to start of construction. He will resign in October.
The Federal Transit Administration awarded a $6.9 billion capital investment grant to GDC for the tunnel project last month, which officials said was the final funding needed to complete it. GDC selected MPA Delivery Partners earlier this year to be its project delivery partner providing various management services and technical expertise. Construction on some parts of the project is already underway, and the GDC board voted on Aug. 1 to approve a $465.6 million contract with Schiavone Dragados Lane JV for the first part of the tunnel at New Jersey side.
“Kris Kolluri has been an incredible leader of the Gateway Development Commission, ensuring that GDC has the organizational capacity, capacity and funding to complete the Hudson Tunnel project,” search committee members added .
GDC plans to post the job listing on its website in the near future, a spokesperson says.
The commission was formed jointly by both states to lead passenger rail infrastructure projects on a section of the Northeast Corridor line between Newark, NJ and Manhattan. The Northeast Corridor is the most heavily used passenger rail line in the US, with more than 800,000 passenger trips per day.
The program includes the $1.7 billion Portal North Bridge in New Jersey, operated by New Jersey Transit.
The new tunnel is scheduled to open in 2035.
