$16 Billion Gateway Hudson Tunnel Project Secures Final Funding, Construction Plans Outlined

The $16 billion Gateway Hudson Tunnel project secured the final batch of federal funding this week and will soon begin construction of a new train tunnel under the Hudson River. Locals should expect disruption in Hudson River Park between W29th and W30th Streets until at least the end of 2027.

It will take over a decade to complete the Gateway Hudson Tunnel project, but construction has already begun on the West Side, where the new tunnel passes underneath Hudson Yards.

Starting early next year through December 2027, Hudson River Park users can expect disruption between W29th and W30th Streets, where the bike lane and pedestrian walkway will be rerouted to make way for a construction staging area.

The new tunnel, which will include two train tracks, will replace an aging 114-year-old tunnel currently used by Amtrak and New Jersey Transit that carries 450 trains under the Hudson per day. The original North River Tunnel , which was heavily damaged following Superstorm Sandy, requires years of maintenance.

The new tunnel is expected to be completed by 2035. When repairs to the existing tunnel are completed by 2038, the transit agencies will have doubled their capacity, allowing for a more efficient service between New York and New Jersey.

At a Manhattan Community Board 4 (MCB4) meeting last month, representatives from the Gateway Development Commission revealed that a portion of the heliport in Hudson River Park would be used as a construction staging area, starting in January 2025.

In potential relief to some neighbors, the construction will render two of the six helipads temporarily inoperable. Pedestrian and bike pathways will be rerouted around the area, towards the river’s edge, and separated from construction by concrete blocks and bollards. According to the Gateway Development Commission’s presentation, work will take place on weekdays from 7am to 11pm.

A temporary utility bridge over 12th Avenue will connect the staging area in the park with power from the construction site on the opposite side of the highway — where construction on the main shaft will take place.

Additionally, piles from former piers 68 and 69 (bw W28th/29th St) will be removed from the river in two six-month periods between July 2025 and January 2027. To facilitate the construction of the tunnel, ground stabilizing work will be done in tandem with the pile extractions. A cofferdam will be installed west of the former piers and will move towards the east as work progresses.

The new tunnel is set to head from Penn Station at about 9th Avenue and W31st Street, cutting diagonally across 10th and 11th Avenues down to W29th Street. That portion of the tunnel, which cuts under the Eastern and Western rail yards, has already been completed by Amtrak.

“It’s going to be a very long project with lots of moving parts, but we’ll all be better for it hopefully in the end,” said MCB4 member Leslie Boghosian Murphy at the June meeting. She added that, given the project’s $16 billion price tag and impacts on the community, she hoped there will be “some sort of community benefit” that comes out of it. “We do fully expect that our area is going to be left better than when it was first entered into,” Murphy commented.

The Gateway Project has been a long time in the making. It was first announced in 2011, during the Obama administration, but it took over a decade to secure the necessary funding. On Monday, elected officials announced a final agreement from the federal government to pay $11 billion, or 70%, towards the total cost. The remaining $5 billion will be split between New York and New Jersey.

“Let me just say this: today is a historic day. There’s no doubt about it,” NY Governor Kathy Hochul said at a Monday press conference. “We have seen this through, and what this says is that New York and New Jersey — this region — still has the boldness.”

NY Senator and Majority Leader Chuck Schumer agreed: “The Gateway race [to secure funding] was truly a marathon, with its twists, its turns, its bumps — but we laced up, we kept up the pace and we made it.”

The Gateway Tunnel is one of several large infrastructure (and construction) projects on the horizon for Hell’s Kitchen and the West Side. The Port Authority Bus Terminal is in the process of a redesign , with a new terminal expected by 2032, while the Western Rail Yards — the undeveloped portion of Hudson Yards — is undergoing a special permit process to allow for more commercial space and a potential casino. That’s not to mention a redesign of Penn Station , and Pier 76 , the former home of an NYPD tow pound.

The Gateway Project is currently gathering input on plans to stage construction along the Hudson River and remove pilings from the river. Members of the public can submit comments by emailing christopher.hansen@dot.gov before 5pm on Monday, July 15.

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