U.S. top officials have launched in New York the construction of the Hudson Tunnel project and the final phase of the Concrete Casing project, implemented under the Gateway programme.
The ceremony was attended by the U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, New York Governor Kathy Hochul, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, Senior Advisor to the President and White House Infrastructure Coordinator Mitch Landrieu, and the Chairma of Amtrak Board Tony Coscia.
The Hudson Yards Concrete Casing is an essential rail right-of-way preservation project that will clear the way for the realisation of full construction of Hudson Tunnel project. The first two sections are complete and run under the block bordered by 10th and 11th Avenues and 30th and 33rd Streets. Section 3 extends the casing on a diagonal alignment from the western edge of 11th Avenue to 30th Street, where it will connect with the new Hudson River Tunnel, providing access for trains that will use the new Hudson Tunnel into New York Penn Station. This portion of the project is expected to be completed in the summer of 2026.
“The Gateway programme is critically important not just to this city and this region, but to our entire country’s economic security. We celebrate a major step toward completing the new Hudson River Tunnel, as we begin work on the third and final part of the concrete casing that will eventually connect Gateway Hudson Tunnel to Penn Station,” Secretary Buttigieg said.
In January 2023, President Biden announced that the Hudson Yards Concrete Casing – Section 3 project would receive USD 292 million through the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Mega Grant Programme, which was created under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
The Gateway programme has seen significant additional progress in recent months. Construction of the new Portal North Bridge, led by NJ TRANSIT and Amtrak, recently passed the 35% completion mark, and key elements of the Hudson Tunnel Project have advanced, including:
The Hudson Tunnel project entered the Engineering Phase of the Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) Capital Investment Grants (CIG) Programme, making the project eligible for USD 6.88 billion in federal grants. Five out of nine contemplated Hudson Tunnel project contracts are in procurement or construction.
The Hudson Tunnel project involves construction of a new Hudson River rail tunnel serving New York Penn Station and the rehabilitation of the existing Sandy-damaged North River Tunnel.
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