Boring Begins on $16B Hudson Tunnel Project

The biggest underground dig under the Hudson in more than 100 years is finally moving from plan to reality. As the Gothamist reports, crews in North Bergen, NJ, have started testing the first of two 500-foot tunnel-boring machines that will cut a new pair of rail tunnels between New Jersey and Manhattan, the first since 1910. The $16 billion project is the centerpiece of the Gateway program, meant to expand and shore up rail service into Penn Station, where more than 200,000 passengers each day already pass through aging, Hurricane Sandy-damaged tunnels. "The current tunnel was innovative for its time when Teddy Roosevelt was president," said New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill. "But anyone who's endured the hours-long delays in the current tunnel can tell you it's no longer state-of-the-art, not by a long shot."

The two boring machines have a relatively non-boring task, reports ABC7: Each machine, 28 feet across, is expected to grind about 30 feet daily through solid rock in the Palisades for a total of about a mile of tunnel. They'll then be swapped out for equipment tailored to softer riverbed soil that will build underneath the Hudson River. The federal government has pledged about $12 billion for the project, with New York and New Jersey covering the rest. The tunnels are slated to open in 2035.