Hudson Tunnel Project (HTP) construction package 1C will bore the section of new tunnel tubes located under the Hudson River and install the tunnel liner and floor and will begin in the coming months, according to the GDC. With the awarding of this contract, six of ten construction packages for the project are now completed or in progress. Package 1A is the Palisades Tunnel Project and is the first tunnel boring project for the HTP. Package 1B is the Manhattan Tunnel and includes building the section of the new tunnel that connects to the Hudson Yards Concrete Casing and prepares a pathway under 12th Avenue for the tunnel boring machines (TBMs). Both 1A and 1B are currently under construction. The contracts for the tunnel boring and construction of the tunnel’s core and shell are now awarded or in progress.
Traylor/Wash/Skanska JV was selected after a “competitive process and proposal review” by a panel consisted of experts and representatives of the GDC, State of New York, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, Amtrak, and NJ Transit. GDC says the contract price for the project is $1.29 billion. A Market Case Estimate (MCE) for Package 1C was approved, and GDC’s CEO is authorized to issue a Notice to Proceed (NTP) to the joint venture.
Package 1C: The Hudson River Tunnel Section
This section includes the lowest stretch of tunnel boring for the project. Two new tunnel tubes will be built measuring 7,250 feet long under the Hudson River connecting the Hudson County Access Shaft in Weehawken, New Jersey to the 12th Avenue Access Shaft on Manhattan’s West Side. Two mixed-use TBMs will bore the tubes. These TBMs have been designed to tunnel through the mixed conditions under the river, says GDC. These mixed conditions include soft soil, rock, and stabilized earth created by the Hudson River Ground Stabilization Project (HRGS).
Crews will also construct nine cross passages to connect the two tunnel tubes, stabilize the ground around a section of the Hudson Bergen light rail tracks under which the new tunnel will pass, and construct a permanent underground support system. This underground support system will strengthen this section of the Willow Avenue Bridge.
New York GDC Commissioner and Co-Chair Alicia Glen, New Jersey GDC Commissioner and Co-Chair Balpreet Grewal-Virk, and GDC Amtrak Commissioner and Vice Chair Tony Coscia gave a joint statement: “Awarding the contract for Package 1C: The Hudson River Tunnel Section is not only an important step toward delivering a critical investment in our nation’s rail network, but also a signal to the thousands of workers employed by GDC and our contractors, the millions of riders who deserve a reliable, modern commute, and GDC’s many other partners and stakeholders that the Hudson Tunnel Project is back on track. . . We are grateful for the steadfast support we have received from Governor Hochul, Governor Sherrill, Leader Schumer, and many others whose dedication and advocacy have enabled us to reach this milestone. Taking this step forward reinforces GDC’s commitment to working collaboratively with our partners in Washington and the states to deliver the most urgent passenger rail project in the country.”
“Awarding the Package 1C: Hudson River Tunnel Section contract represents two significant milestones on the way to delivering the Hudson Tunnel Project: more than half of the construction packages that make up the project are now in progress or completed and we have now awarded contracts for all the tunnel boring needed to build the new tunnel tubes. . . It has taken years of planning and tens of thousands of hours of labor to reach this point. We’re firing on all cylinder now and the progress we are making is plain to see at our construction sites on both sides of the river. It is critical we maintain this momentum going forward,” said GDC CEO Tom Prendergast.
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