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U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer, the Senate majority leader, on Friday announced an additional $3.8 billion from the U.S. Department of Transportation for the Gateway Project.
Additionally, Schumer (D-N.Y.), together with other officials, joined Amtrak and Hudson Tunnel Project sponsor the Gateway Development Commission in celebrating the start of construction in New York on the Hudson Tunnel Project and the final phase of the Concrete Casing project.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and senior advisor to the president and White House Infrastructure Coordinator Mitch Landrieu made the announcement on the two-year anniversary of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, President Joe Biden’s administration’s legislation that represents the largest-ever federal investment in public transportation.
The Hudson Yards Concrete Casing is an essential rail right-of-way preservation project that will clear the way for the Hudson Tunnel Project’s full construction.
The first two sections are complete and run under the block bordered by 10th and 11th avenues and 30th and 33rd streets. Section 3 extends the casing on a diagonal alignment from the western edge of 11th Avenue to 30th Street, where it will connect with the new Hudson River Tunnel, providing access for trains that will use the new Hudson Tunnel into New York Penn Station. This portion of the project is expected to be complete in Summer 2026.
In January, Biden announced that the Hudson Yards Concrete Casing – Section 3 project would receive $292 million through the Department of Transportation’s Mega Grant Program, which was created under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
A “Notice to Proceed” was also recently given to start mobilization on the Tonnelle Avenue Bridge and Utility Relocation project, which will mark the beginning of the Hudson Tunnel Project in New Jersey.
“On the heels of Tonnelle Avenue’s Notice to Proceed, today we have achieved yet another pivotal milestone toward the nation’s most critical infrastructure project. The Hudson Yards Concrete Casing will quite literally pave the way toward the construction of the long-awaited Hudson Tunnel, an integral element of the Gateway Program that will increase connectivity within one of the most heavily trafficked transportation corridors in the country,” Murphy said.
“The start of construction in New York for the Hudson Tunnel Project signifies something different than all previous milestones — that our vision for new, state-of-the-art infrastructure is no longer just a vision; it’s becoming reality,” Amtrak Chair and GDC Vice Chair Tony Coscia said. “We thank the Biden-(Kamala) Harris administration, Secretary Buttigieg, Majority Leader Schumer, Sen. Gillibrand, Gov. Hochul, Gov. Murphy, the FRA, our GDC partners and all of the federal and local officials who have championed this project and advanced it to this point.”
GDC CEO Kris Kolluri added: “The tremendous benefits that the new tunnel will bring start now. Today is not just about commemorating the tunnel’s future promise. It’s about the 72,000 new jobs created in the process, the $19 billion in economic activity and the American suppliers and manufacturers who just gained a very reliable customer.”
The Gateway Program has seen significant additional progress in recent months. Construction of the new Portal North Bridge, led by New Jersey Transit and Amtrak, recently passed the 35% completion mark, and key elements of the Hudson Tunnel Project have advanced.
“The $3.8 billion in federal funding announced today for the Gateway is the next step in moving one of our nation’s most transformative infrastructure projects forward,” U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) said. “I’ve led the fight for the better part of two decades to improve and expand cross-Hudson transit and rail access, and this infusion of funding will help move this from vision to reality. When complete, the Gateway Project will facilitate increased capacity along the entire Northeast Corridor — a region that accounts for 20% of national GDP — and provide thousands of New Jerseyans who commute to New York every day with vastly improved, safer and more reliable train service. I look forward to continuing to work with all of our state, federal, and local partners to ensure this project continues to receive the necessary federal funding to reach the finish line.”
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