NEW YORK — Work is resuming this week on the Hudson Tunnel project, the Gateway Development Commission said today (Feb. 24), with nearly 1,000 jobs being restored following layoffs that occurred when the project was shut down on Feb. 6.
The resumption of work is being funded through approximately $235 million the commission received from the federal government earlier this month. The commission did not specify exactly when the work would resume, perhaps reflecting disruptions that occurred when the New York area was hit by a blizzard on Sunday night.
“This is great news for these workers, the hundreds of thousands of riders who take the train to New York City every day, and the entire region, but we cannot take our eyes off the ball,” Alicia Glen, commission co-chair from New York, said in a press release. “We need every federal dollar accounted for in our grant and loan agreements to build this tunnel.”
Balpreet Grewal-Virk, co-chair from New Jersey, said the commission is “incredibly thankful” for the “leaders who have called on the administration to stop delaying the most urgent infrastructure project in the country. … I look forward to celebrating the launch of our tunnel boring machines through the Palisades once GDC has assurance it will receive the steady flow of funding needed for this megaproject.”
Preparation for assembly of the first of two tunnel boring machines is among activities the commission says will take place in the weeks ahead, along with coordinating delivery of the second boring machine; excavation of the launch box for the first tunnel boring machine; slurry wall installation for the 12th Avenue access shaft and the start of excavation of the Hudson County access shaft; constructing a marine platform for work associated with the Manhattan Tunnel; ground stabilization in the Hudson River; and site clearing work for the New Jersey surface alignment project.
While work resumes at the project’s active construction sites, the commission said two major contracts remain on hold until it regains access to the full $15 billion in previously committed federal grants and loans. Those contracts, for the tunnel and the New Jersey surface alignment project, were scheduled to be awarded late last year or early this year.
Work stopped earlier this month when the commission exhausted available funding and credit while federal money was being withheld. The money now being used to resume work was freed by a court ruling on a suit by the states of New York and New Jersey [see “Judge orders funds released …,” Trains.com, Feb. 7, 2026]. U.S. District Judge Jeannette A. Vargas ordered the money released while that suit advances in court. Another suit by the Gateway Commission also remains active.
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At this point, can’t count on anything.