Workers perform Portal Bridge rail maintenance in New Jersey, US. Reconstruction of the Portal Bridge is one of several major projects of the Gateway Program. (Image: Gateway Program Commission)

US Senator from New York Chuck Schumer wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter: 鈥淚t鈥檚 all systems go for the Gateway Tunnel!鈥�

He said the US federal government is to 鈥減ay for most鈥� of the $16-billion build that will improve rail lines and tunnels for Amtrak commuter train service in the country鈥檚 Northeast Corridor.

In 2023, the project broke the record for dollars-spent by the US federal government on a single mass-transit project; before Tuesday鈥檚 announcement, $12 billion was already earmarked to improve capacity, reliability, and resiliency of commuter and intercity rail transit serving 800,000 daily passengers from Washington D.C., New York, and New England states.

Tom Wright, president and CEO of the Regional Plan Association (RPA) and Build Gateway Now (BGN) coalition, said, 鈥淸The RPA and BGN coalition] celebrate the historic news that the Hudson Tunnel Project will officially be fully funded, with the largest federal grant ever awarded to a mass-transit project in the United States.鈥�

Construction works schduled for the Gateway Program project

The joint venture (JV) of Mace-Parsons-Arcadis (MPA Delivery Partners) was selected as main contractors earlier this year. The JV is made up of firms from the UK-US-Netherlands, respectively.

Together they鈥檒l build a two-tube, nine-mile-long tunnel (Hudson Tunnel Project) with new rail between New York and New Jersey underneath the Hudson River. This specific portion of the scheme is proving to be the costliest ($11.6 billion) of the Gateway projects. The JV will also repair the more-than-century old North River Tunnel and the Hudson Palisades Tunnel, in addition to bridge construction and repair as well as train yard and station improvements.

Initial construction started in late 2023. New construction on the underwater tunnels could start as early as this year and is expected to last until 2035 to 2038.

Watch an animation of one portion of the Gateway Program project below: