MANHATTAN, N.Y. – One hundred and fifty years after DeWitt Clinton Haskin – a former Union Pacific Railroad engineer – began building the Hudson Tunnel between Jersey City and Manhattan, a joint venture and a slew of other players are rehabilitating and expanding it.

The new Hudson River Tunnel is being built between the Bergen Palisades in New Jersey and Manhattan in New York City. It’s a multi-phase effort that is estimated to cost more than $16 billion, of which $12 billion in federal funding of has already been received via the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

This project scope includes constructing two new tunnels under the Hudson River between New York and New Jersey. The effort will also repair the existing North River Tunnel, which was damaged by Hurricane Sandy in 2012.

The Hudson Tunnel Project is part of the overall Gateway Program, which also includes:

  • North River Tunnel rehabilitation: The existing 1910 tunnel will be restored after being severely damaged by Hurricane Sandy.
  • Hudson Yards concrete casing: A concrete casing will be built under Hudson Yards to allow trains to travel between the new tunnel and Penn Station.
  • New rail bridges: New rail bridges will be built in the New Jersey Meadowlands.

A joint venture between Mace, Arcadis, and Parsons will coordinate the project. MPA Delivery Partners will work with the Gateway Development Commission to manage stakeholders, contractors and consultants.

Weeks Marine Inc. will perform the second phase of the Hudson River ground stabilization project. This phase includes injecting grout into the riverbed silt.

The new tunnel will add two tracks to the Northeast Corridor line, which is currently used by NJ Transit and Amtrak trains. The project is expected to double train capacity and allow for more high-speed rail service.

Preliminary construction began in November 2023 and gained traction in July 2024. The work is scheduled to be completed by 2035.

According to the Gateway Development Commission, daily rail commuters from New York to New Jersey have long had to depend upon an antiquated, damaged “one-track-in, one-track-out” route.

The new tunnel will ensure that there is redundant capacity, allowing for one tunnel to be taken out of service for maintenance without significantly disrupting the daily transit of hundreds of thousands of commuters and travelers along the Northeast Corridor, one of the busiest rail corridors in the nation.

A total of 95,000 new jobs are estimated to be created via the massive project, with nearly $20 billion in economic impact during the 12-year construction period.

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