New York’s Gateway Development Commission (GDC) Board has authorised GDC to enter into a final agreement in September with the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) for a $3.8bn Federal-State Partnership (FSP) grant to fund the Hudson Tunnel Project (HTP).
GDC applied for an FSP Grant in March 2023 and all $3.8bn requested was committed in November 2023. At the Hudson Yards Concrete Casing – Section 3 (HYCC-3) groundbreaking in November, Majority Leader Schumer announced that the grant would revise the HTP’s funding structure from a 50-50 to a 70-30 split between the federal government and the states, representing the largest ever federal commitment to a rail mass transit project.
In a joint statement, Alicia Glen, New York GDC Commissioner and Co-Chair, Balpreet Grewal- Virk, New Jersey GDC Commissioner and Co-Chair, and Tony Coscia, GDC Amtrak Commissioner and Vice Chair, said, “The FSP grant agreement will cap off the massive effort to get the Hudson Tunnel Project all of the funding it needs to be completed. Taken together with the major construction we’re seeing ramp up, GDC is earning its stripes as an agency with the capacity and drive to build the most urgent infrastructure project in the nation.”
GDC CEO Kris Kolluri said, “On my first day as CEO, I was tasked with identifying and securing all of the sources of federal funding available to guarantee the HTP’s future. With tremendous support from the Biden administration, Senators Schumer and Booker, the New Jersey and New York Congressional delegations, and Governors Murphy and Hochul, that task will be complete with final execution of the FSP grant.”
GDC also briefed the Board of Commissioners on efforts to increase public engagement around HTP construction with the launch of the HYCC-3 EarthCam on Manhattan’s west side. Starting today, a daily panoramic image of HYCC-3 construction progress will be available on the GDC website. GDC launched an EarthCam at the Tonnelle Avenue Bridge and Utility Relocation Project construction site in April 2024.
HYCC-3 is an essential right-of-way preservation project linking the new tunnel into New York Penn Station. Ongoing work at the HYCC-3 site includes secant guide wall and pile installation, jet grouting under the High Line, and demolition of the LIRR Emergency Services Building, which was relocated to clear the path for the new tunnel.
Active construction in North Bergen and in the Hudson River has seen significant progress this summer as well.
At the Tonnelle Avenue Project site in North Bergen, construction is underway on a new roadway bridge that will carry Tonnelle Avenue over the new tunnel’s portal. Early work to demolish the ARC Project’s remaining concrete abutments was recently completed, and concrete form work for the new bridge’s abutments is beginning this week. Meanwhile, excavation and lagging work is in progress.
On the heels of GDC Board authorization to proceed with Phase 2 of the Hudson River Ground Stabilization (HRGS) Project, which is preparing the riverbed for tunnel boring, large floating cranes in the Hudson River have started work on the test cofferdam for in-water work. Sheeting and pin pile installation are also in progress.
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