The Gateway Development Commission (GDC) recently celebrated the start of tunnel boring for the Hudson Tunnel Project. In the following days, final testing will be completed and the first tunnel boring machine will begin digging, which will be used to build the new train tunnel under the Hudson River. Soon after, a second tunnel boring machine will launch.
After over a decade of planning and almost three years of construction work, the tunnel boring marks the beginning of the project’s first phase. The Hudson Tunnel Project will build the first new rail tunnel under the Hudson River in over 100 years, adding even more significance to the project’s advancement.
“I spent years in Congress fighting for the Hudson Tunnel Project because it is the most important infrastructure project in the country. Now, tunnel boring is beginning on the first new rail tunnel under the Hudson in more than a century. I was proud to be called the ‘tunnel-obsessed Congresswoman,’ and as Governor, I will keep fighting until this tunnel is built, so 100,000 jobs will be delivered, and millions of New Jersey commuters and travelers finally have the reliable service they deserve,” said New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill.
The two tunnel boring machines that will be launching this fall are expected to bore approximately one mile through hard rock under the Palisades Cliffs in New Jersey, reaching the Hudson County Access Shaft on the border of Weehawken and Hoboken. The machines will be removed via the access shaft and replaced by a second pair of machines that will build the section of the tunnel under the Hudson River.
The two tunnel boring machines are expected to build roughly 30 feet of tunnel per day, including scheduled pauses for maintenance. It is anticipated that the machines will reach the Hudson County Access Shaft roughly one year after launching.
A single tunnel boring machine is comprised of almost 100 complex components and took over a year to manufacture. By the end of 2025, following factory testing, the machines were disassembled and sent to New Jersey. Prior to the launch, workers spent months reassembling the machines, in addition to testing and preparing them for the launch.
The Hudson Tunnel Project is an investment into the most heavily traveled stretch of America’s rail network. The construction of a new two-tube rail tunnel will work to improve transportation between New York and New Jersey. It will also focus on rehabilitating the existing North River Tunnel, which has been under constant service since 1910 and is a significant factor in train delays for hundreds of thousands of passengers.
This monumental step brings the project closer to its ultimate goal. After years of planning, the machines will soon begin digging and mark the start of the next phase of the Hudson Tunnel Project.