GDC Awards Contract for Hudson River Tunnel

The Gateway Development Commission (GDC) on April 27 awarded the contract for the Hudson Tunnel Project construction package that will bore the section of the new tunnel tubes under the Hudson River and install the tunnel liner and floor – called “Package 1C: The Hudson River Tunnel Section” – to Traylor/Walsh/Skanska JV. This work is expected to begin in the coming months. 

With the award of this contract, six of the 10 construction packages that make up the Hudson Tunnel Project are now in progress or completed. Together with Package 1A: The Palisades Tunnel and Package 1B: The Manhattan Tunnel, which are already under construction, contracts for all the tunnel boring and construction of the new tunnel’s core and shell – the entire heavy civil portion of the Hudson Tunnel Project – are now awarded or in progress. Construction is creating tens of thousands of jobs and driving billions of dollars in economic activity in the region and across the country.

“Faster commutes and thousands of good paying jobs – that is the promise of the Gateway Tunnel and why we fought so hard to keep this project moving forward,” New York Governor Kathy Hochul said. “Advancing this critical contract is yet another big step towards realizing the immense opportunity of Gateway and delivering one of the nation’s most essential infrastructure projects.” 

“Today’s action by the GDC makes it clear that the Gateway Tunnel is back on track after we stopped President Trump from illegally blocking funding to the project,” said New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill. “It moves one of the most critical pieces of this project forward. And it is another big step towards delivering on the most urgent infrastructure project in the nation for both the tens of thousands of workers who will build it and the hundreds of thousands of riders who rely on this connection every day.” 

U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer said, “Gateway continues to move forward. We are watching like a hawk to make sure that the funds are allocated without delay or disruption. This is a huge win for the tens of thousands of union workers, our regional economy, and the hundreds of thousands of riders who depend on these tunnels every single day.” 

“Awarding the contract for Package 1C: The Hudson River Tunnel Section is not only an important step toward delivering a critical investment in our nation’s rail network, but also a signal to the thousands of workers employed by GDC and our contractors, the millions of riders who deserve a reliable, modern commute, and GDC’s many other partners and stakeholders that the Hudson Tunnel Project is back on track,” said 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, in a joint statement, “We are grateful for the steadfast support we have received from Governor Hochul, Governor Sherrill, Leader Schumer, and many others whose dedication and advocacy have enabled us to reach this milestone. Taking this step forward reinforces GDC’s commitment to working collaboratively with our partners in Washington and the states to deliver the most urgent passenger rail project in the country.” 

“Awarding the Package 1C: Hudson River Tunnel Section contract represents two significant milestones on the way to delivering the Hudson Tunnel Project: more than half of the construction packages that make up the project are now in progress or completed and we have now awarded contracts for all the tunnel boring needed to build the new tunnel tubes,” said GDC CEO Tom Prendergast. “It has taken years of planning and tens of thousands of hours of labor to reach this point. We’re firing on all cylinders now and the progress we are making is plain to see at our construction sites on both sides of the river. It is critical we maintain this momentum going forward.”

Package 1C: The Hudson River Tunnel Section

Package 1C: The Hudson River Tunnel Section includes the longest stretch of tunnel boring for the Hudson Tunnel Project. GDC’s contractor will build two new tunnel tubes, each approximately 7,250 ft long, under the Hudson River from the Hudson County Access Shaft in Weehawken, New Jersey, to the 12th Avenue Access Shaft on the West Side of Manhattan.  

These tubes will be bored using two new, mixed-use tunnel boring machines (TBMs) that are designed to tunnel through the mixed conditions in the ground under the Hudson River, including rock, soft soil, and the block of stabilized earth created by the Hudson River Ground Stabilization (HRGS) project. 

In addition to tunnel boring, the project includes:  

• Construction of nine cross passages connecting the two tunnel tubes.  
• Stabilizing the ground around a section of Hudson Bergen Light Rail tracks that the new tunnel will pass under. 
• Constructing a permanent underground support system to strengthen a section of the Willow Avenue Bridge between Weehawken and Hoboken. 

Traylor/Walsh/Skanska JV was selected following a competitive process and proposal review 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, and Amtrak. The contract price for this project is $1.29 billion. 

The Board also approved the Market Case Estimate (MCE) for Package 1C: The Hudson River Tunnel Section and authorized GDC’s CEO to issue a Notice to Proceed (NTP) to Traylor/Walsh/Skanska JV.