New York Construction Report staff writer
The Hudson River Tunnel Gateway construction project will receive a $292 million grant from the federal government. President Joe Biden was joined by secretary of transportation Pete Buttigieg, New York governor Kathy Hochul, and New Jersey governor Phil Murphy to announce funding at the West Side Rail Yard in Manhattan.
“All told, this is one of the biggest and most consequential projects in the country, but it’s going to take time,” President Biden said. “It’s a multi-billion effort between the states and the federal government, but we finally have the money and we’re going to get it done, I promise you.”
The Gateway Project grant will fund installation of concrete casing and other structural elements. When complete, the new tunnel will stretch ten miles and provide a direct connection from the Palisades in New Jersey to Pennsylvania Station in Manhattan.
Work also includes repairs to an existing train tunnel beneath the Hudson that suffered significant damage during Hurricane Sandy in 2012. Estimates say the tunnels, when in full operation, will support an additional 2,200 trains in and out of New York City each day.
Total project costs are estimated at $16.1 billion.
“I’m going to take advantage of this almost $300 million in funding to be a catalyst to get this project going—the first demonstrative step to make this historic project a reality,” New Hochul said. “And let’s not forget, we love infrastructure, moving people, all this. Seventy-two thousand jobs are associated with this project.”
The project will renovate the 1910 tunnel already carrying about 200,000 weekday passengers beneath the Hudson between New Jersey and Manhattan, a long-delayed upgrade after decades in which the government underfunded infrastructure.
The federal grant will also be used to complete the concrete casing for an additional rail tunnel beneath the river, preserving a right of way for the eventual tunnel.
Other projects to receive mega grants include the Brent Spence Bridge, which connects Kentucky and Ohio; the Calcasieu River Bridge replacement in Louisiana; a commuter rail in Illinois; the Alligator River Bridge in North Carolina; a transit and highway plan in California; and roadways in Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and Mississippi.
