The project has now secured all federal and environmental permits. Assuming the required funding is secured, work can begin as early as 2023 on constructing two new tunnels and rehabilitating the existing 1910-built North River tunnels.
Gaining the 404/10 permit also signifies that the project complies with the Clean Water Act, and the Rivers and Harbors Act 1899. It follows the issuing of a Final Environmental Impact Statement and Record of Decision in May by the US Department of Transportation. Many see these developments as healthy signs of the renewed relationship between the project partners and Washington’s current federal administration.
In November, critical supplemental geotechnical investigations had already begun on the west side of Manhattan for the geotechnical baseline report, work that is expected to continue until early 2022. Rail infrastructure provider Amtrak has already started acquiring properties needed to advance the engineering work.
The Hudson Tunnel Project forms part of the Gateway Program, seen as the most urgent infrastructure project in the US. It includes the construction of a new twin-tube rail tunnel under the Hudson River between New York and New Jersey, and the rehabilitation of the existing North River rail tunnel which was badly damaged in 2012 by superstorm Sandy.
