210 replies to this topic

[KevinKorell]

Darienite,  7/22/22:

 

 

   Decrepit, at Risk: No Way for Weakest Yet Most Crucial Northeast Transportation Link to Go Through Life  

 

It should have been done by now.

2018 was the expected completion date of the new railroad tunnels under the Hudson River, first proposed in 2009. At that time the $9 billion project was the biggest infrastructure project in the country. Now it may finally happen.

 

Story

[CNJRoss]

Bloomberg, 8/17/22

 

NYC Rail-Tunnel Project Needs More Staff to Tap Billions in Aid

 

• Gateway program is hiring what could be dozens of people
• The infrastructure program is expected to last until 2032

 

 

Gateway, a more than $12 billion series of tunnel and bridge projects to improve commuter connections between New York and New Jersey, is ramping up hiring in order to gain access to billions in funding over the next year.

 

One of the nation’s most crucial infrastructure programs is required to show it has sufficient technical staff and controls in place in order to be eligible for its next round of federal grants, Kris Kolluri, chief executive officer at the Gateway Development Commission, said in an interview. A person close to the projects said the hiring could run into the dozens. 

 

 

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[CNJRoss]

Railway Track & Structures, 9/2/22

 

Tunnel terror? Price of Hudson River Tunnel Project increases, completion further away

 

 

Shortly after it was announced that the cost of the Hudson Tunnel Project had increased by another $2 billion, the governors of New York and New Jersey doubled down on their funding commitment.

 

The Gateway Development Commission said pandemic-related inflationary pressures, delays from the Trump administration, and an increase in federal interest rates are behind the rise in cost, which now stands at $16 billion. The Commission also announced the project will not be completed until 2038. The original deadline was set at 2031.

 

 

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[CNJRoss]

Trains News Wire

 

Hudson tunnel timeline pushed back three years

 

September 6, 2022

 

Cost of Northeast Corridor project rises by $2 billion

 

 Stephen Gardner or Amtrak gives Gov. Phil Murphy, U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez and other members of the New Jersey Congressional delegation a tour of the Gateway Project via an Amtrak inspection car passing through the aging, storm-damaged North River Tunnel beneath the Hudson River in 2019. The timeline for building new tunnels and repairing the existing tunnels has been pushed back by three years. (Ed Murray | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

 

NEW YORK — New Northeast Corridor tunnels connecting New Jersey to New York’s Penn Station will not be completed before 2035 — three years later than previously planned — and will cost at least $2 billion more than previously projected, the commission overseeing the project said last week.

 

The New York Times reports that the cost of the Gateway Tunnel project will rise to $16.1 billion, and the delay with the new tunnels under the Hudson River mean rehabilitation of the existing tunnels — significantly damaged during Hurricane Sandy — would not be complete until 2038, also three years later than prior projections.

 

The website amNY.com reports officials from the Gateway Development Commission, created by the states of New York and New Jersey to manage the project, blame the delays and cost increases on the project’s inability to advance during the Trump administration, addition of more time to the schedule to allow for problems, inflation, and rising interest rates.

 

The commission hopes to cover some of the additional costs with money from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. New York and New Jersey would cover the remainder.

 

 

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[KevinKorell]

Gothamist, 10/24/22:

 

 

  10 years after Sandy, Hudson River tunnel just as vulnerable to flooding – and a fix isn’t coming until 2038    

 

 

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has likened the North River Tunnel linking Penn Station to New Jersey to an “aorta” that “connects one side of the Hudson to another and connects Boston to Washington.” Before the pandemic, Amtrak and NJ Transit trains carrying a total of 200,000 passengers used the tunnel daily.

 

Article

[CNJRoss]

Gothamist, 10/24/22

 

10 years after Sandy, Hudson River tunnel just as vulnerable to flooding – and a fix isn’t coming until 2038

 

Since Hurricane Sandy, New York and New Jersey officials have feared a nightmare scenario where the only train tunnel used by Amtrak and NJ Transit beneath the Hudson River suddenly becomes unusable.

 

The tunnel is so important that Amtrak warns the entire U.S. economy could be harmed if it were to unexpectedly go offline. Sandy drastically shortened the life span of what was already a nearly century-old tunnel, not designed to handle 450 trains a day.

 

The saltwater residue left when Sandy’s storm surge receded is an ongoing worry 10 years later.

 

But a decade after the storm, the North River Tunnel remains just as vulnerable to flooding. A $16 billion plan to repair the existing tube and build a new one won’t be complete until 2038.

 

Officials from New York, New Jersey, and Amtrak involved in the project, dubbed the Gateway Program, now admit they can do little more than cross their fingers that another flood won’t hit in the meantime.

 

 

 

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[CNJRoss]

Railway Track & Structures,12/30/22

 

Hudson River Rail Tunnel Construction to Begin in 2023 With $292M Grant  

 

Written by Kyra Senese, Managing Editor

 

Sen. Chuck Schumer said Dec. 29 that a $292 million federal grant will enable construction to start in the upcoming months on the Manhattan side of the new Hudson River rail tunnels connecting Penn Station to New Jersey.

 

The funding will pay for about half of the $600 million cost of building the concrete casing of a box tunnel that will carry trains in and out of Penn Station beneath Hudson Yards as part of the Gateway Program, as reported by the New York Daily News.

 

 

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[CNJRoss]

CBS New York, 1/23/23

 

President Biden to visit New York City to tout funding for Hudson River tunnel project

 

 

NEW YORK -- President Joe Biden will visit New York City next week to talk about a major infrastructure project. 

 

Mr. Biden is expected to address how funding from the bipartisan infrastructure law will help the Hudson River tunnel project. 

 

 

 

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[KevinKorell]

nj.com   5/2/23:

 

 

  Price tag of Gateway Tunnel’s concrete box under Hudson Yards is $692M      

 

 

President Joe Biden came to New York in January to announce a $292 million grant to build the remaining piece of a concrete structure to carry the proposed Gateway Tunnel under the massive Hudson Yards complex in west Manhattan.

 

Update

[CNJRoss]

NorthJersey.com, 5/1/23

 

There's more to Gateway than tunnels. Here's why the smaller projects need to get funded

 

Animation:  First Stage of Gateway Project

 

When New Jerseyans hear “Gateway,” many think of the projects to build two new train tunnels under the Hudson River and rehabilitate the older ones.

 

But the Gateway program is a collection of projects — and not all are tunnel-related.

 

While the Gateway Development Commission is seeking a federal grant agreement so major construction can begin on those tunnels, there are smaller, lesser-known projects for which Amtrak and NJ Transit are trying to lay the groundwork as well.

 

For the Gateway program to be successful — reducing delays, providing for faster trains and adding rail capacity — all the Gateway projects must get completed, so even these smaller projects are crucial.

 

 

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