Hudson Tunnel Boring Starts on $16B Project Amid Funding Fights
Tunnel boring has launched on the $16 billion Hudson Tunnel project in North Bergen, N.J., Construction Dive reports, with the first machine set to start cutting in the coming days.
Project Scope and Funding Risk
The Gateway Development Commission (GDC) held a ceremonial launch on Sept. 28. The first set of machines will bore 5,100 feet of rock beneath the Palisades Cliffs, from the North Bergen portal to the Hudson County Access Shaft on the Weehawken and Hoboken border. A joint venture of Schiavone Construction, Lane Construction and Dragados will complete the first phase of boring under the Palisades Tunnel package. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey manages delivery of that package in partnership with GDC.
Each machine has a 28-foot, 8-inch cutterhead, a trailing gantry of roughly 500 feet and a weight above 1,680 tons. Disc cutters break the hard rock into chips, and a conveyor carries them out. An erector arm places precast concrete lining segments as the machine advances. Sen. Chuck Schumer said the rock is so hard the machine moves only 30 feet a day. After the first pair reaches the access shaft, crews will swap in a second pair to build the section under the Hudson River.
The project has been politically contested. Construction resumed earlier this year after a federal funding dispute halted work, and a federal judge later barred the Department of Transportation from withholding funds over its disadvantaged business enterprise program. In April, GDC awarded a $1.29 billion contract to a Traylor Bros., Walsh Construction and Skanska joint venture for the Manhattan Tunnel Project. That award put all construction packages needed to bore the new tunnel into active construction. New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill said the state has taken the Trump administration to court five times and won five times. Sen. Cory Booker warned that attempts to slow the project will likely continue.
What It Means for Subcontractors
- Document funding exposure before signing. Work on this project has already stopped once over a federal funding dispute, and Construction Dive reported in March that another fight could halt construction again. Get written terms on payment timing, stop-work compensation and demobilization costs before committing crews.
- Ask whether pay is tied to federal reimbursement. Find out whether your payments depend on federal funds flowing to GDC or the Port Authority. Ask for pay-if-paid or pay-when-paid language to be spelled out, and price the float you would carry if funds are frozen.
- Go through the awarded JVs. Boring-phase prime contracts are already placed with Schiavone/Lane/Dragados (Palisades Tunnel) and Traylor/Walsh/Skanska ($1.29 billion Manhattan Tunnel). Public reports do not specify which subcontract packages remain open, so confirm scopes and bid timing directly with those teams.
- Check DBE compliance paperwork. The court fight over the disadvantaged business enterprise program shows that compliance can become a funding flashpoint. Certify DBE status and keep participation records current if you count toward a prime’s goals.
- Plan for slow production. At the 30 feet a day Schumer cited, the 5,100-foot first drive is a long-duration job. Price mobilization and standby for heavy civil, precast handling, muck removal and support trades with that pace in mind, and tie escalation to the actual schedule.
