GDC awards Hudson River Tunnel contract

The Gateway Development Commission (GDC) has awarded the Hudson River Tunnel construction contract to Traylor/Walsh/Skanska JV.

Package 1C: The Hudson River Tunnel Section involves tunnelling under the Hudson River and includes the longest stretch of tunnel boring for the Hudson Tunnel Project. The two tunnel tubes, each approximately 2.2km long, will connect the Hudson County Access Shaft in Weehawken, New Jersey, to the 12th Avenue Access Shaft on the West Side of Manhattan.

The tunnel will be excavated using two mixed-use TBMs designed for the conditions under the Hudson River, including rock, soft soil, and the block of stabilised earth created by the Hudson River Ground Stabilisation project.

In addition to tunnel boring, the US$1.29bn (€1.1bn) project includes the construction of nine cross-passages; stabilising the ground around a section of Hudson Bergen Light Rail tracks that the new tunnel will pass under; and constructing a permanent underground support system to strengthen a section of the Willow Avenue Bridge between Weehawken and Hoboken.

With the award of this contract, six of the 10 construction packages that make up the Hudson Tunnel Project are now in progress or completed. Together with Package 1A: The Palisades Tunnel and Package 1B: The Manhattan Tunnel, which are under construction, contracts for all the tunnel boring and construction of the new tunnel’s core and shell – the entire heavy civil portion of the Hudson Tunnel Project – are now awarded or in progress.

“Faster commutes and thousands of good paying jobs – that is the promise of the Gateway Tunnel and why we fought so hard to keep this project moving forward,” New York governor Kathy Hochul said. “Advancing this critical contract is yet another big step towards realising the immense opportunity of Gateway and delivering one of the nation’s most essential infrastructure projects.”

The Palisades Tunnel Project, awarded to Schiavone Dragados Lane JV in 2024, is the first tunnel boring project of the Hudson Tunnel Project.

It includes boring two parallel tubes approximately 15.6km long with an inside diameter of approximately 8m and six cross-passages, and building the Hudson County Access Shaft.

The Manhattan Tunnel Project, awarded to Frontier/Kemper/Tutor/Perini JV in February 2025, is building the section of new tunnel connecting to the Hudson Yards Concrete Casing and preparing a pathway under 12^th Avenue for the Hudson River Tunnel TBMs. It also includes the 12^th Avenue shaft.