Gateway Development Commission Awarded $1.3 Billion Contract for Hudson Tunnel Project Section

55081884940_786d46b9d6_k — New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill joins Cory Booker, U.S. Senator, State of New Jersey, Rob Menendez, U.S. Congressman, 8th Congressional District of New Jersey Frank Pallone, U.S. Congressman, 6th Congressional District of New Jersey Josh Gottheimer, U.S. Congressman, 5th Congressional District of New Jersey Nellie Pou, U.S. Congresswoman, 9th Congressional District of New Jersey LaMonica McIver, U.S. Congresswoman, 10th Congressional District of New Jersey and union representatives regarding the Gateway Tunnel Project due to the funding for the project will officially run out on Friday per the Trump Administration, while in Weehawken, N.J. on Friday, Feb. 6, 2026. (Office of Governor / Tim Larsen)

The Gateway Development Commission has awarded a nearly $1.3 billion contract for the section of the Hudson Tunnel Project that will bore the new rail tunnel tubes beneath the Hudson River, a major step in the multi-package effort to expand capacity and improve reliability on the Northeast Corridor.

The commission said Traylor/Walsh/Skanska JV will build two new tunnel tubes, each about 7,250 feet long, running under the river between the Hudson County Access Shaft in Weehawken and the 12th Avenue Access Shaft on Manhattan’s West Side. The work, known as Construction Package 1C, also includes installing the tunnel liner and floor and is expected to begin in the coming months.

With the award, six of the project’s 10 construction packages are now underway or completed, and the contracts for tunnel boring and core structural work for the new tunnel have been awarded or are in progress. The package is the longest stretch of tunnel boring in the Hudson Tunnel Project, according to the commission.

The work will use two new mixed-ground tunnel boring machines designed to handle varying conditions beneath the river, including rock, soft soil and ground that has been stabilized as part of a separate riverbed preparation effort. The contract also covers the construction of nine cross passages linking the two tubes, ground stabilization near the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail tracks where the new tunnel will pass beneath, and the installation of a permanent underground support system tied to the Willow Avenue Bridge between Weehawken and Hoboken.

The commission said the joint venture was selected through a competitive procurement process reviewed by an evaluation panel that included technical experts and representatives from GDC, the State of New York, NJ Transit, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and Amtrak. GDC’s board also approved the Market Case Estimate for the package and authorized the CEO to issue a notice to proceed.

The Hudson Tunnel Project is a central component of the broader Gateway Program, a set of rail investments intended to modernize and expand the busiest section of the Northeast Corridor between New Jersey and New York.