Hudson Tunnel Project Resumes, But Gateway Development Commission Says Another Pause Possible Pending Funding

NEWARK, New Jersey — Workers have returned to all Hudson Tunnel Project construction sites, marking a resumption of the project that was paused amid a brief funding battle.

However, the Gateway Development Commission said while it has fully resumed construction, it will have to pause construction again in two to three months if federal funding disbursements do not continue. In addition, contract awards for the Hudson River Tunnel and New Jersey Surface Alignment contracts remain on hold.

According to the GDC, so far this year:

• GDC completed the Tonnelle Avenue Bridge & Utility Relocation Project. The project was substantially completed in late 2025, when the bridge structure was finished, opening space beneath Tonnelle Avenue for the tunnel boring machines to be assembled for launch. The work completed since then has included paving and striping the last section of the new road on top of the bridge, along with other tasks associated with closing out construction of the project.
• Components of the first TBM for the Palisades Tunnel Project have arrived at the construction site in North Bergen and are being prepped for assembly.
• The second TBM for the Palisades Tunnel Project has shipped from the factory. Components of this machine will begin to arrive on site in March.
• GDC’s contractor completed installation of the Hudson County Access Shaft slurry wall, which creates a watertight perimeter for the shaft belowground, and will begin excavation this spring.
• Installation of pipes and construction of an overwater platform for ground-freezing work around the Manhattan bulkhead in preparation for future tunnel boring began.
• The cofferdam in the Hudson River was shifted east toward Manhattan. Deep soil mixing to stabilize the riverbed for tunnel boring resumed within the cofferdam.
• Concrete placement for the tunnel floor, known as an invert slab, of the Hudson Yards Concrete Casing – Section 3 tunnel box has been completed, and installation of the walls is in progress. More than 11,000 cubic yards of concrete have been poured to date.

“The Hudson Tunnel Project is the most urgent passenger rail project in the country, and GDC’s mission is to deliver it as soon as possible,” GDC CEO Tom Prendergast said in a statement. “Our workers are back, and we are moving full steam ahead across all our construction sites, but we will have no choice but to stop work again if the federal government does not continue to disburse the funds that are committed to the project.

“This project is too important to delay,” Prendergast added. “That’s why we’re doing everything possible to regain consistent and predictable access to all our federal funding so we can keep our workers on the job and deliver the reliable, modern rail transit Americans deserve.”