NEW YORK – Amtrak has issued a Request for Qualifications for construction services regarding renewal for two of four tunnels under the East River. The project would work to modernize tunnel infrastructure. Preparatory work is already underway in New York’s Sunnyside Yard with major construction starting in early 2024 and continuing through 2027. The tunnels are used by Amtrak, NJ Transit, and Long Island Rail Road.
The selected construction contractor will rehabilitate both tubes by demolishing the existing tunnel systems down to the concrete liner and perform reconstruction of the tunnel and related systems. The work will be performed under a Project Labor Agreement as part of a 2021 Memorandum of Understanding between Amtrak and North America’s Building Trades Unions covering Amtrak’s major civil engineering projects.
The project is eligible for federal funding via the FY 2022-2023 Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail Program (FSP-NEC Program) created by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. An application for a full funding grant for the East River Tunnel Rehabilitation Project was submitted in March 2023 in response to the FSP-NEC Program Notice of Funding Opportunity. Amtrak issued this request for qualifications in anticipation of the Federal Railroad Administration funding decision expected in Fall 2023.
Amtrak previously applied for, and was awarded a grant under the FY 2021 Federal-State Partnership for State of Good Repair Program for the East River Tunnel Rehabilitation Enabling Components Project, which will ensure that traction power is maintained in each of the tunnels while rehabilitation activities are underway.
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