Gateway Development Commission Awards Palisades Tunnel Contract

The Gateway Development Commission (GDC) Board of Commissioners on Aug. 1 awarded the Palisades Tunnel Project contract to Schiavone Dragados Lane JV. This is the first tunnel boring contract GDC has awarded for the Hudson Tunnel Project (HTP). Work on the Palisades Tunnel Project will begin in the coming months and is expected to be completed in 2027.

The move is part of a flurry of activity in the past year for GDC, which expects to award construction contracts worth more than $5 billion by the end of 2024. In July, the commission announced that is secured funding for the entire Hudson Tunnel Project.

In addition to the Palisades Tunnel contract, the GDC Board approved the authorization of a Notice to Proceed for Phase Two of the Hudson River Ground Stabilization (HRGS) Project, the first heavy construction project of the HTP. Phase One of the HRGS Project began in May and is expected to conclude this fall. Phase Two will be completed in 2027.

In a joint statement, Alicia Glen, New York GDC Commissioner and Co-Chair, Balpreet GrewalVirk, New Jersey GDC Commissioner and Co-Chair, and Tony Coscia, GDC Amtrak Commissioner and Vice Chair, said, “When we signed the full funding grant agreement for the Hudson Tunnel Project in July, we said that construction would ramp up quickly. Today we are following through on that commitment with dramatic steps forward for our first heavy construction and tunnel boring projects. Advancing both of these projects is a major step in the construction phase of the HTP, and we will maintain the disciplined process that enabled this achievement.”

The Palisades Tunnel Project will construct the first mile of twin-tunnels on the New Jersey side of the Hudson River. It includes boring two tunnels approximately 5,100 ft long with an inside diameter of 25 ft, 2 in. and six cross passages, as well as furnishing and installing a concrete tunnel lining with waterproofing membrane.

The project also involves building the new Hudson County Shaft, which will be used to remove the Tunnel Boring Machines when digging is complete. Following a publicly advertised bidding process, proposals were reviewed by an Evaluation Panel consisting of technical experts and representatives from GDC, the State of New York, NJ TRANSIT, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ), and Amtrak. Schiavone Dragados Lane JV was selected through a competitive evaluation of technical and price proposals. The award the GDC Board approved includes $465 million for the total contract price and an additional five percent of the contract price for contingencies.

The HRGS Project involves injecting a mix of soil, concrete, and water into the riverbed in 1,200 ft of the shallow area on the Manhattan side of the Hudson River to ensure the Tunnel Boring Machines can excavate the new tunnel and protect the riverbed from disruption. To limit impacts on the river ecosystem, temporary sheet pile cofferdams will enclose the work zone and construction will be timed to avoid disrupting fish spawning seasons. Phase One of the HRGS Project included surveying and the design and construction of a test cofferdam. Phase Two will include injecting grout into the silt on the riverbed to create columns of soil mixed with cement and water that will stabilize the ground above the future tunnel.

The GDC Board awarded the contract for the HRGS Project to Weeks Marine, Inc. in February following a publicly advertised bidding process and review by an evaluation committee of technical experts.