During a stop in New York City, President Joe Biden announced his administration had awarded nearly $1.2 billion for a critical early phase of the Hudson Tunnel Project and other infrastructure projects.
Part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act’s National Infrastructure Project Assistance discretionary grant program (Mega) for major infrastructure projects across the country, the Hudson Tunnel project will receive more than $292 million to complete the extension of a concrete casing for the tunnels on the West Side of Manhattan. The work is a preliminary phase required before work to dig a 2.4-mile-long tunnel under the Hudson begins. That work is expected to take three years and cost more than $16 billion.
The administration said the cost of the Hudson Tunnel Project is more than $16 billion in total but that the investment will improve train service between New York and New Jersey by improving resilience, reliability, and redundancy. Additionally, the administration said, the project will reduce commute times for NJ Transit riders, enhance Amtrak reliability and support the regional economy. Amtrak said it anticipates the Hudson Tunnel Project resulting in 72,000 direct and indirect jobs during construction.
The 100-year-old North River Tunnel is the only passenger rail tunnel connecting New York and New Jersey and sees more than 200,000 passenger trips per weekday on more than 450 Amtrak and NJ Transit trains through New York Penn Station. Officials said the tunnel has reached its capacity of 24 trains per hour, which causes bottlenecks and delays. Aging infrastructure caused an estimated 12,653 minutes of delay in 2020 over 54 days and was attributed to problems with electrical power, signaling, and track systems.
Officials said salt water that flooded the tunnel during Superstorm Sandy in 2021 continues to damage the tunnel’s concrete, steel, tracks and third rail, signaling, and electrical components, requiring regular maintenance that disrupts service. Rehabilitation of the tunnel would require its closure, which, officials said, is only possible if a second tunnel exists.
The Hudson Tunnel Project will rehabilitate the old North River Tunnel, as well as build a new tunnel beneath the Palisades, the Hudson River, and the waterfront of Manhattan; construct new surface alignment from Secaucus to the new tunnel portal in North Bergen; construct ventilation shafts and fan plants in New Jersey and New York; and make modifications to Penn Station’s tracks.
The project is part of the Gateway Program, which will expand and rebuild rail between Newark, New Jersey, and New York City.