New York rail megaproject gets $6.8 billion boost

Full funding has been secured for the Hudson Tunnel Project—a $16 billion rail megaproject linking New York to New Jersey via an underwater tunnel.

The Gateway Development Commission signed a Full Funding Grant Agreement with the Federal Transit Administration to secure $6.8 billion in federal funding for the Hudson Tunnel Project, it announced on Monday. The project will rehabilitate the 113-year-old North River Tunnel, damaged by saltwater exposure during Superstorm Sandy in 2012.

The bill will be divided between the federal government and local partners, with the government covering 70% and the remaining 30% shared by New York, New Jersey and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

“Today the Biden-Harris Administration and USDOT [Department of Transport] are fulfilling their promise to the riders of New York, New Jersey, and the entire Northeast Corridor by providing $11.7 billion in federal funding for the Gateway Project and over $4 billion in federal loans,” said USDOT Deputy Secretary Polly Trottenberg.

“Today is a momentous occasion in a years-long collaboration to build a new Hudson River Crossing, bringing together USDOT, Congress, two states, Amtrak, the Port Authority, local officials, labor partners, and more. Together, we are investing in a project that will move Americans forward and contribute to the economic growth of our nation,” she added.

Construction first began in November 2023, and it is expected that the new tunnel will be in service by 2035, with the full rehabilitation of the existing tunnel complete by 2038.

Organizers anticipate the Hudson Tunnel Project will generate almost $20 billion in economic activity and create 95,000 jobs.

“Daily commuters currently rely on an antiquated, damaged ‘one-track-in, one-track-out’ tunnel that is not equipped to serve our modern economy – especially not for a region that contributes to 20 percent of the national GDP,” a spokesperson for the project told Newsweek.

“The Hudson Tunnel Project will provide redundancy and operational flexibility that addresses the root cause of chronic delays, finally delivering 21^st century rail transportation to the region’s travelers,” they added.

“The project’s complexity is one of the reasons a new tunnel has not been built under the Hudson River in more than a century. State-of-the-art technology will be used to bore through the hard rock of the Palisades, stabilize the riverbed for excavation, and lay new tracks under one of the busiest cities in the world,” the spokesperson said.

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