Hudson Tunnel Construction Begins
Tunnel boring begins on the $16 billion Hudson River rail project in New Jersey.
Anonymous
Tunnel boring has begun in North Bergen on the $16 billion Hudson Tunnel Project, the first construction of a new Hudson River rail tunnel in more than a century. Two 500-foot machines will bore about a mile through the Palisades to an access shaft in Weehawken, advancing roughly 30 feet a day and taking about a year; a second pair will then excavate beneath the Hudson toward Manhattan. The project will add two rail tubes and rehabilitate the century-old, storm-damaged North River Tunnel, which serves more than 200,000 daily passengers and is a major Northeast Corridor bottleneck. The new connection is intended to expand capacity and improve reliability, but is not expected to open until 2035. New York and New Jersey officials celebrated the milestone and vowed to defend the project against federal funding challenges.
Key Points
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The first pair of boring machines are about 28 feet across and operate like “mini factories,” using conveyor belts to remove debris and installing concrete lining as they advance.
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The tunnel is intended for both NJ Transit and Amtrak trains; accommodating its additional trains will depend on a separate Penn Station rebuilding and expansion project being undertaken by Amtrak.
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The project faced a federal funding freeze that briefly halted construction in February, prompting New York, New Jersey and the Gateway Development Commission to sue; Gov. Mikie Sherrill said they had won five court rounds and would keep fighting.
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The first phase will build about 5,100 feet of tunnel through solid Palisades rock between North Bergen and Weehawken before a different pair of machines tackles the softer material beneath the Hudson.
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