The Gateway Development Commission (GDC) in New York has today signed the Full Funding Grant Agreement (FFGA) with the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) for $6.88bn in federal funding for the Hudson Tunnel Project (HTP) and closed on Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing (RRIF) loans from the Build America Bureau totalling $4.06bn to fund the local share of the project.
With these actions, GDC has now secured the entire $16bn commitment needed to complete the HTP. This includes $12bn in federal funding – the largest federal funding commitment to a rail transportation project in modern history. The financing commitment means that by the end of 2024, GDC will have awarded contracts for more than $5bn in construction activity, including contracts to build sections of the tunnel passing through the Palisades in New Jersey and going through the Manhattan bulkhead under Hudson River Park, and will have ordered the first TBM.
The HTP includes construction of two, 7.2km long tracks via twin tunnels of 3.8km length each, as well as repairing Amtrak’s existing North River Tunnel, which opened in 1910 and was damaged during Hurricane Sandy in 2012.
“For a long time now, the Gateway project has been my passion. It’s a labor of love. And after many false starts and obstacles placed in our way, Gateway is full speed ahead with billions from FTA ready to go and be used for critical work and construction,” said Senator Charles Schumer. “Gateway’s future is assured and the most important public works project in America is all systems go.”
“Today marks a significant milestone on the path to ensuring the success of our nation’s most vital infrastructure project,” said New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy. “Thanks to the leadership of our partners, both in Congress and across the Hudson, our federal government will be covering over 70 percent of the total cost of the Gateway Tunnel Project. As the main artery of our nation’s economy continues to be pushed to its limits, we are now one step closer to transforming the 100-year-old infrastructure under the Hudson River. New Jersey thanks the Biden-Harris Administration for delivering this critical investment so that our region’s transportation system will be able to support a new century of American leadership.”
“Today marks the culmination of securing funding for a project that stands as the most consequential undertaking of our generation and for the next hundred years in this region. The commitment from all levels of government – local, state, and federal – underscores the profound understanding of this project’s significance,” said NJ TRANSIT President & CEO Kevin S. Corbett. “As a primary user of the current tunnels, no one knows better than NJ TRANSIT and our riders about the desperate need for the new tunnels.”
The HTP will eliminate one of the biggest risks of failure on the Northeast Corridor by building two additional tracks and rehabilitating the existing North River Tunnel, resulting in four modern tracks between New York and New Jersey. The new tunnel will be in service by 2035 and the full rehabilitation of the existing tunnel will be complete by 2038.
The total $16bn cost of the HTP will be split 70/30 between the federal government and the project’s local partners: New York, New Jersey, and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ). This arrangement saves the local partners multiple billions of dollars compared to the original plan to split the project costs 50/50.
The FFGA signed today represents a commitment from FTA to provide $6.88bn for the HTP through the New Starts Capital Investment Grant (CIG) Program. This is the largest grant in the history of the CIG Program and the largest single funding source for the HTP. The federal government has also committed $3.8bn to the project through USDOT’s Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail (FSP) Program, $292M from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s Mega grant program, and $25M through the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) Program. Amtrak is contributing an additional $1bn.
The low-interest RRIF loans that GDC closed on today will fund the local share of the project. These three loans, totaling $4.06bn, represent the largest aggregate loan the USDOT has provided through the RRIF program.
Construction of the HTP started on both sides of the Hudson River in November 2023 and is expected to create 95,000 jobs and generate $19.6 billion in economic activity.
In New Jersey, the Tonnelle Avenue Bridge and Utility Relocation Project is building a new roadway bridge to allow for a connection to the new tunnel portal and an access point for TBMs. In Manhattan, work is underway on the Hudson Yards Concrete Casing Section 3 (HYCC-3) Project that will preserve a rail right-of-way to link the new Hudson Tunnel to New York Penn Station.
The actions taken today also enable GDC to move forward with heavy construction and tunnel boring activity. Heavy construction will begin in the coming weeks with the Hudson River Ground Stabilization (HRGS) Project, which will stabilize the riverbed on the Manhattan side of the Hudson River to enable the Tunnel Boring Machines to excavate the new tunnel.
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