Report: Feds Approve $6.88 Billion Grant for Hudson Tunnel Project

The federal government has given its approval for a $6.88 billion dollar grant to build the Hudson River tunnel connecting New York and New Jersey, Yahoo!News reported on June 12.

According to the Gateway Development Commission, the new tunnel is part of the ambitious Gateway program that will augment the existing North River Tunnel (NRT). The NRT was opened in 1910 by the Pennsylvania Railroad, and was designed to early 20th-century standards and consists of two tracks. This “one-track-in, one-track-out” rail system between New York and New Jersey results in significant delays up and down Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor (NEC) when service incidents occur. Service reliability through the NRT, already suboptimal because of the tunnel’s age and antiquated design, has been further compromised by damage caused by Superstorm Sandy in 2012.

When an incident takes one tube out of service, traffic in and out of Penn Station in New York City must use the one remaining NRT tube, reducing capacity by up to 75% and leading to significant delays. The 24 trains per hour that use the NRT in the peak period could drop to as few as six when just one tube is closed.

The new Hudson Tunnel Project will build two additional tracks and rehabilitate the existing two tracks, resulting in four modern tracks between New York and New Jersey that create operational flexibility, rail network redundancy, and resiliency against future impacts to the Hudson River rail crossing.

The overall Gateway project improves a 10-mile stretch, including the new tunnel under the Hudson. The commission has already achieved significant milestones this year. On Feb. 28, the Gateway Development Corporation announced that it awarded a Delivery Partner contract for the HTP to MPA Delivery Partners, a joint venture of Parsons Corp., Arcadis of New York Inc., and Mace North America Ltd. Earlier in February, the commission awarded the HTP’s first heavy construction contract for Hudson River Ground Stabilization to Weeks Marine Inc., clearing the way for work to begin in the river this year.

Yahoo!News reported Gateway Development Commission spokesperson Steve Sigmund as saying: “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.”

RELATED: Gateway Development Commission Submits Final Documents for FTA Full-Funding Grant Agreement

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