The Gateway Development Commission (GDC) has awarded the Traylor/Walsh/Skanska joint venture the $1.29 billion Package 1C contract for the Hudson River Tunnel Section of the Hudson Tunnel Project.
The award advances one of the most critical civil packages in the broader Gateway Program. It covers the longest stretch of tunnel boring on the project and moves the program closer to full heavy-civil execution for the new passenger rail tubes beneath the Hudson River.
Hudson Tunnel Project – Project Background
The Hudson Tunnel Project is one of the most consequential passenger rail investments in the United States because it targets the most constrained section of the Northeast Corridor. GDC says the corridor carries more than 2,200 train movements and 800,000 passenger trips daily, which gives each major package award broader network significance than a typical city-specific rail job.
According to a Gateway Development Commission press release, Package 1C covers the section of the new tunnel tubes that will run under the Hudson River between the Hudson County Access Shaft in Weehawken, New Jersey and the 12th Avenue Access Shaft on Manhattan’s West Side. Work is expected to begin in the coming months.
The package sits inside the wider Hudson Tunnel Project, which is the core element of the Gateway Program and is intended to improve resilience and capacity on the Northeast Corridor. The existing North River Tunnel has been in service since 1910 and was damaged by Superstorm Sandy, which is why the replacement and rehabilitation sequence has become such a high-priority rail investment.
This latest award is also a program milestone, not just a standalone contract. GDC said six of the ten construction packages that make up the Hudson Tunnel Project are now in progress or completed, and that all tunnel boring and core-and-shell heavy civil packages for the new tunnel are now awarded or underway.
Joint venture participants for the Package 1C are:
Package 1C – Scope of Works, Delivery Model and Project Implications
Package 1C includes construction of two new tunnel tubes, each approximately 7,250 feet long, beneath the Hudson River. GDC said the works will be carried out using two new mixed-use tunnel boring machines (TBMs) designed for the mixed ground conditions below the river, including rock, soft soil, and stabilized ground.
The scope extends beyond tunnel boring. The package also includes installation of the tunnel liner and floor, construction of nine cross passages between the two tunnel tubes, stabilization of ground near the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail, and permanent underground support works for a section of the Willow Avenue Bridge.
Package 1C key features:
- $1.29 billion contract value
- Two new single-track passenger rail tunnel tubes
- approximately 7,250 feet per tunnel tube
- Nine cross passages between the tunnels
- mixed-ground TBM excavation under the Hudson River
- tunnel liner, floor, ground stabilization, and bridge support works
From a delivery standpoint, this is one of the most technically demanding tunnel packages on the project. The combination of pressurized river crossing conditions, interface works near active transport assets, and permanent structural support requirements puts it firmly in the category of complex underground rail infrastructure rather than a routine bored tunnel contract.
The Notice to Proceed (NTP) issued by the GDC to the JV means a significant project milestone with enabling works for the TBMs expected to commence soon.
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