Officials Activate Tunnel Boring Machines for Hudson River Project
New York and New Jersey officials activated massive boring machines on September 28 to begin the first new rail tunnel under the Hudson River in over 100 years.
Officials from New York and New Jersey activated the first of two massive tunnel-boring machines on September 28 in North Bergen, New Jersey. The event marks the start of the first phase of the $16 billion Hudson Tunnel Project, a centerpiece of the Gateway program. The project will create two new rail tubes to double capacity between New Jersey and New York's Penn Station, serving more than 200,000 daily riders on the Northeast Corridor.
Kathy Hochul, Governor of New York, celebrated the milestone as a victory after the Trump administration previously attempted to revoke federal funding, leading to five successful court challenges by the states and the Gateway Development Commission. The first machines will bore 5,100 feet through the basalt bedrock of the Palisades Cliffs toward Weehawken at a rate of 30 feet per day, with digging expected to begin by October 13. Once this phase is complete, machines optimized for softer sediments will be deployed to dig under the river.
The new tunnels are scheduled to open for service in 2035. Following their completion, the existing North River Tunnel, which suffered damage during Superstorm Sandy, will undergo rehabilitation with a target completion date of 2038. The project is designed to support Amtrak and NJ Transit trains, replacing infrastructure that has not been expanded since 1910.
