The Federal Transportation Administration has approved a $6.88 billion grant for the Hudson River rail tunnel construction.
The full funding agreement for the $6.88 billion CIG grant is the puzzle piece that completes $12 billion in federal funding for the Hudson Tunnel Project, the largest ever federal commitment to a mass transit project
“We are moving full steam ahead with the largest and most consequential infrastructure project in the nation,” New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy wrote on X. “This is a big win for commuters on both sides of the Hudson.”
It’s the largest ever federal commitment to a mass transit project. Ground has already been broken on both sides of the Hudson River and crews are expected to start heavy construction this year.
“Including the tunnel boring machines, the machines that essentially create, bore through and create the tunnels, all the way from the Palisades to Manhattan,” ,” the Gateway Development Commission said in a statement.
Construction on the new tunnel is expected to last about 10 years to complete and will be followed by the rehabilitation project on existing tunnels that were built in 1910.
Once all four tracks are up and running, the new and updated tunnels will accommodate about 200,000 daily commuters.
Gateway Development Commission (GDC) has installed an EarthCam panoramic camera at the Tonnelle Avenue Bridge and Utility Relocation Project and live images of the project site will be accessible on the GDC website, providing daily updates of construction progress.
GDC will also release periodic ‘time lapse’ footage during construction.
EarthCam photos and additional information can be found here.
“The installation of the EarthCam at the Tonnelle Avenue project is an important part of meeting our responsibilities to the public,” Alicia Glen, New York GDC Commissioner and Co-Chair, Balpreet Grewal-Virk, New Jersey GDC Commissioner and Co-Chair, and Tony Coscia, GDC Amtrak Commissioner and Vice Chair, said in a joint statement. “We are excited to offer this window into our work and look forward to continued collaboration with all stakeholders as we advance the vital Hudson Tunnel Project.”
The Tonnelle Avenue Bridge and Utility Relocation Project is a major early work component of Hudson Tunnel Project involving the relocation of utilities and the construction of a new roadway bridge for Tonnelle Avenue in North Bergen.
This project will allow for a connection to the new tunnel portal at the western slope of the New Jersey Palisades, provide construction access between the staging sites on either side of Tonnelle Avenue, and enable access to the entry point for the Tunnel Boring Machines that will dig the Palisades Tunnel portion of the project.
Work launched on the Tonnelle Avenue Project in November 2023, marking the start of construction on the Hudson Tunnel Project in New Jersey, and is expected to conclude by fall of 2025.
