First Sections of $16 Billion Gateway Tunnels Headed to NJ for Reassembly; Targeting 2035 Completion
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
NORTH JERSEY, NJ – The colossal Gateway Rail Tunnel Project, one of the nation’s largest federally funded infrastructure initiatives, has hit a major milestone: the arrival of its primary excavation tools.
Disassembled sections of the first of two massive German-made Tunnel Boring Machines (TBMs) are currently being shipped to the Garden State via ports in Elizabeth and Baltimore. The first components are expected to arrive in North Bergen later this month, where they will be meticulously reassembled for their underground journey.
Tom Prendergast, CEO and president of the Gateway Development Commission (GDC), confirmed the TBMs were fully assembled and tested overseas before being shipped, signaling that digging is imminent.
The Timeline: A Decade of Drilling
The Gateway Project is crucial for the Northeast Corridor, aiming to build a brand new, two-track tunnel for use by NJ Transit and Amtrak between Secaucus and Penn Station New York.
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Tunneling Start: Spring, after a three-month on-site testing period for the TBMs.
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New Tunnel Completion: Expected by 2035.
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Rehabilitation: Once the new tunnel is operational, the century-old, two-track North River Tunnel will undergo long-overdue repairs.
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Full Service: All four tracks (two new, two rehabilitated) are expected to be operational by 2038.
The twin TBMs will construct two tubes, drilling through the dense Palisades rock beneath North Bergen, Union City, Hoboken, and Weehawken. Upon reaching the Hudson River, the TBMs will swap their drill bits for specialized cutters designed to manage the river muck. They will eventually slice through Manhattan’s historic bulkhead, concluding the approximately one-mile excavation at the underground entrance to New York Penn Station.
The TBMs are expected to advance at a rate of approximately 30 feet per day.
Overcoming Hurdles: Funding, Safety, and Legal Battles
The GDC has been navigating a complex environment involving political and operational challenges:
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Funding Pause: Federal reimbursement payments were halted by the Trump administration amid a review focused on the GDC’s Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) program, which aims to include small, women, and minority-owned businesses in federally funded contracts.
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Prendergast confirmed the GDC is working toward “full compliance” to address the US Department of Transportation’s concerns and ensure funds start “flowing again.” Work has continued using cash-on-hand and a line of credit.
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The board approved a $77 million 2026 budget, including $30 million for interest on short-term credit facilities—a significant jump from the $17.2 million budgeted in the current year.
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Tragic Accident: A worker died at the concrete casing project site in Manhattan. The GDC and Amtrak responded immediately with “safety stand-downs,” stopping all work to review hazards across the entire project.
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Labor Dispute Victory: The GDC won a legal challenge against contractor George Harms Construction Inc., which sought to pause bidding on the New Jersey surface alignment project over a Project Labor Agreement (PLA).
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The court ruled that Harms failed to prove irreparable harm and that the PLA’s terms were not exclusionary, allowing the bidding process to continue for this crucial component between Secaucus and North Bergen.
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The GDC is “pleased with the court’s decision” as it advances the “most urgent passenger rail project in the country.”
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