The Gateway Development Commission (GDC) Board awarded the Palisades Tunnel Project contract to Schiavone Dragados Lane JV which is the first tunnel boring contract for the Hudson Tunnel Project (HTP). The work on the Palisades Tunnel will begin in the coming months and is expected to be completed in 2027. The GDC Board approved $465 million for the total contract price and an additional five percent of the contract price for contingencies.

The Palisades Tunnel Project will construct the first mile of twin-tunnels on the New Jersey side of the Hudson River. It includes boring two tunnels approximately 5,100-feet long (25 ft Diatmeter, six cross passages), as well as furnishing and installing a concrete tunnel lining with waterproofing membrane. The project also involves building the new Hudson County Shaft, which will be used to remove the Tunnel Boring Machines when digging is complete.

The Board also approved the authorization of a Notice to Proceed for Phase Two of the Hudson River Ground Stabilization (HRGS) Project, the first heavy construction project of the HTP. Phase One of the HRGS Project began in May and is expected to conclude this fall. Phase Two will be completed in 2027.

The Hudson River Tunnel is part of the overall Gateway project which improves a 10-mile stretch of the Norteast Rail Corridor, including the new tunnel under the Hudson.The new tunnel will be in service by 2035 and the full rehabilitation of the existing tunnel will be complete by 2038. 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 February 2024, Gall Zeidler Consultants (GZ) was selected as part of the HTP Delivery Partner providing project management, construction management, and engineering services to the GDC and its partners Amtrak, the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey (PANYNJ), and New Jersey Transit (NJT).

To read more about GZ’s involvement in the Gateway Program, visit our project page.

For complete GDC press release please visit this site.

Rendering of the route for the Palisades Tunnel Project. (Courtesy of GDC).