Hudson Tunnel Project (Gateway Program)

Alignment

The Hudson Tunnel Project is the centerpiece of the Gateway Program. It builds a new two-tube, two-track rail tunnel under the Hudson River for Amtrak and NJ Transit trains, then takes the existing North River Tunnel out of service for a full rehabilitation. That tunnel opened in 1910 and was flooded by Hurricane Sandy in 2012. GDC counts nine miles of new passenger track, about 4.5 miles in each direction, including nearly five miles of bored tunnel. When both tunnels are in service there will be four tracks under the Hudson instead of two.

New tracks branch off the Northeast Corridor in Secaucus, just east of Secaucus Junction, and run about 1.5 miles on the New Jersey Surface Alignment to a new tunnel portal in North Bergen. Two hard-rock tunnel boring machines (the first launched in October 2026) are digging the first 5,100 feet under the Palisades to the Hudson County Access Shaft on the Weehawken–Hoboken border. From there, two 7,250-foot tubes with nine cross passages will cross under the river to the 12th Avenue shaft on Manhattan’s West Side. A short Manhattan tunnel and the concrete casing preserved under Hudson Yards carry the tracks into New York Penn Station. No new stations are planned.

The work is split into ten construction packages. They include the Tonnelle Avenue bridge, Hudson River ground stabilization, the Palisades, Hudson River and Manhattan tunnel sections, the Hudson Yards casing and the New Jersey Surface Alignment. GDC targets 2035 for the new tunnel to open and 2038 for the North River Tunnel rehabilitation to be finished.

Updates

2026-10 — First tunnel boring machine starts mining

On October 8, the first tunnel boring machine began mining the northern tube in North Bergen, on schedule according to GDC. A second machine is due to launch later in the fall. Together they will bore about 5,100 feet to the Hudson County Access Shaft at roughly 30 feet a day, which should take about a year. A second pair of machines, designed for the mixed ground under the river, will then take over.

2026-09 — Federal government drops its appeal

On September 18, the Trump administration dismissed its appeal of the June ruling that barred it from suspending the project’s federal funds. Bloomberg reported that the government said it would continue the fight.

2026-06 — Court strikes down funding freeze; New Jersey Surface Alignment contract awarded

On June 29, U.S. District Judge Jeannette Vargas in Manhattan ruled for New York and New Jersey, which had sued in February. She found the freeze unlawful and wrote that the government had moved straight to suspending payments without finding that GDC had broken the law. Earlier in the month, on June 1, GDC awarded Construction Package 3, the New Jersey Surface Alignment, to Skanska Creamer Sanzari NJSA JV. The package builds about 1.5 miles of infrastructure connecting the tunnel to the Northeast Corridor. With that award, seven of the ten construction packages were in progress or complete.

2026-04 — $1.29B Hudson River tunnel contract awarded

On April 27, GDC awarded Package 1C, the Hudson River Tunnel Section, to a Traylor Bros., Walsh and Skanska joint venture for $1.29 billion. The contract covers two parallel tubes of about 7,250 feet each, from the Hudson County shaft to the 12th Avenue shaft in Manhattan. The award had been delayed by the federal funding dispute. ENR reported that more than $254 million in overdue federal payments was released through litigation brought by New York and New Jersey.

2026-02 — Funding freeze halts construction

With federal reimbursements still frozen, GDC stopped work at its construction sites in early February. New York and New Jersey sued in federal court, and Judge Vargas ordered the government to release more than $200 million in withheld payments. Work resumed later that month after the money began to flow.

2025-09 — Administration suspends federal payments

On September 30, 2025, the U.S. Department of Transportation suspended payments to the project. The administration said it was reviewing whether GDC’s contracting met federal diversity, equity and inclusion rules, and President Trump said the project was “terminated.”

2024-07 — Full funding secured

On July 8, 2024, GDC signed a $6.88 billion Full Funding Grant Agreement with the Federal Transit Administration, the largest Capital Investment Grant to date. It also closed $4.06 billion in federal Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing loans to cover the local share. Together these completed the $16 billion funding plan, about $12 billion of it federal.

2023-11 — Construction begins

Construction of the $16.1 billion program began in November 2023, with the federal government pledged to cover 70% of the cost. Tunnel boring was then expected to start in 2025, and completion was slated for 2035.