Hudson Tunnel Project’s massive boring machines get to work

The Gateway Development Commission continues to make progress on the Hudson River rail project, having deployed a Tunnel Boring Machine into the hard rock of the Palisades cliffside. The TBM launch comes not long after the GDC held a milestone event Sept. 28 with the ceremonial starting of the drill.

That milestone set into motion the first time that a new tunnel will be built under the Hudson River in over a century, and one that has been much needed. The GDC’s current date of completion is set for some time in 2035, barring any major setback.

The real work started in late 2023 with the foundation laid, leading to the deployment of the TBMs. During this time, the GDC’s contractors built a bridge supporting a section of Tonnelle Avenue in North Bergen to create space under the highway for the TBMs and excavated the launch box where the drills are stationed.

While the construction was happening, the TBMs were being manufactured. A single machine is made up of nearly 100 complex components; assembly took more than a year.

After factory testing in 2025, the TBMs were dismantled and shipped to New Jersey where workers reassembled and tested the machines onsite. The ceremonial starting of the drill in September marked the official beginning of this historical project to bring railway travel into the modern era for commuters in New Jersey and New York.

With members of the GDC, Senate, Congress, governors and more in attendance to see the ceremonial start, the rotation of the drill shows just how much of a mechanical marvel the TBMs are.

But what really makes these drills special is that they were specifically built to drill through the different types of geological rock and surroundings, according to Tom Prendergast, the CEO of the GDC.

Fighting for the project

Lawmakers from New Jersey and New York came together to celebrate the momentous occasion that many thought wouldn’t happen, including Gov. Mikie Sherrill. “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,” Sherrill said. “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.”

Another voice fighting for the project was U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., who gave an impassioned speech during the ceremonial start of the drill. “This milestone is a major step toward fulfilling the Hudson Tunnel Project’s two-track tunnel and giving New Jerseyans the dependable rail infrastructure they’ve waited decades for,” he said. “Millions of people depend on the Northeast Corridor every day to get to work, to school and back home to their families. I’m proud to help deliver a project that will lower costs, strengthen our rail system, boost reliability, double capacity and make commutes better for generations of New Jerseyans to come.”

Other lawmakers who weren’t in attendance also made their stance clear in a statement from the GDC.

“For more than a century, every Amtrak and NJ Transit train between New Jersey and New York has depended on a single aging tunnel. Today, we’re one big step closer to changing that and improving rail service between our states,” U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., D-6th District, said. “I fought alongside the delegation to bring home the federal funding to get Gateway built, and it’s great to see our investment turning into real progress.”

“Today’s milestone in North Bergen is an exciting step toward the modern, resilient rail network New Jersey families deserve. I want to thank all our hardworking union members who made today possible,” said U.S. Rep. Rob Menendez, D-8th District. “This is huge progress for the Gateway Program, but our work isn’t over. I will continue to partner with Gov. Sherrill, our congressional delegation, local leaders and organized labor to ensure that New Jersey continues to be at the heart of America’s transit revival.”

Century old issue

The urgency and importance of the Hudson Tunnel Project cannot be understated given the extreme degradation of the 115-year-old North River Tunnel. The tube has deteriorated markedly from use along with chlorides left over from flooding during Hurricane Sandy in 2012, which damaged both the structure itself and electrical equipment.

According to the GDC “the aging tunnel is a leading cause of delays for riders” and “any further reductions in service through the tunnel would have massive negative impacts on the region and the national economy.”

The commission added that “before our tunnel boring machine started digging, it had been nearly 120 years since the last train tunnel under the Hudson River was excavated. We are far overdue for an upgrade, and the hundreds of thousands of riders who deal with the fallout from train delays know it.” While there is a plan to eventually fix the North River Tunnel, that work will come later.

‘Significant’ milestone

The TBMs, which began on schedule Oct. 8, will drill around 30 feet of tunnel per day through the hard rock of the Palisades, with the second TBM to be deployed soon.

“When the first tunnel boring machine’s cutterhead bit into the rock face in the launch box, GDC reached the most significant Hudson Tunnel Project delivery milestone to date on schedule,” said Prendergast. He called the moment a major achievement that would not have been possible without the people who worked on making this “incredible machine.”

The TBMS are single shield machines designed to tunnel through hard, dry rock using a cutterhead that is nearly 29 feet in diameter with trailing gantries that extend about 500 feet and weigh more than 1,680 tons. As the drills excavate and build the tunnel, broken rocks will be collected by buckets and put onto a conveyor that will then carry them to the back of the tunnel for disposal.

At the same time, an erector arm places precast concrete segments to form the permanent tunnel lining while hydraulic thrust jacks brace against the completed lining to push the machine forward. The drills will dig roughly 5,100 feet from the tunnel portal in North Bergen to the Hudson County Access Shaft on the border of Weehawken and Hoboken in about a year.

Once the TBMs reach that mark, the drills will then be removed from the tunnel and new machines that are designed for the mixed ground conditions under the Hudson will be deployed.

Learn more about the Palisades Tunnel Project (courtesy of Gateway Development Commission):

10 packages

The Hudson River Project is just one of 10 construction packages that will run through the estimated finish date of 2035. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul called for a completion date of 2034, but Jim Starace, chief of program delivery of the GDC, explains why the timeline is set the way it is.

“When you talk of the refurbishing of the North River Tunnels, that’s 2038, but our goal has always been 2035. We have interim milestones along the way,” Starace said. “This is going to be 10 projects all together, including the North River Tunnels and each one has its own milestone and completion date. They are all intertwined, and you can’t have one not finished to have a complete railroad system here. From Secaucus to Penn Station, each project has its own milestone that we monitor and track and deal with the problems of the megaprojects that we see every day.”

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