The first tunnel boring machine (TBM) has begun excavation for the Palisades Tunnel in New Jersey, marking the start of underground construction on a key section of the 16 billion USD Hudson Tunnel Project.
Lane, the US subsidiary of Italian construction group Webuild, is delivering the 466 million USD Palisades contract in a joint venture with FlatironDragados and SPC. The project is being undertaken for the Gateway Development Commission (GDC).
The Hudson Tunnel Project includes the construction of a new rail tunnel beneath the Hudson River, connecting New Jersey with New York, as well as the rehabilitation of the existing tunnel, which has been in service for more than a century.
The wider programme aims to increase rail capacity and improve the resilience of services along the Northeast Corridor.
The Palisades contract covers the first section of the new rail tunnels on the New Jersey side of the Hudson River. The works involve two parallel tunnels, each approximately 1.6 kilometres long and 7.7 metres in diameter.
Two TBMs will excavate the tunnels, which will be lined with precast concrete segments. The contract also includes six cross passages connecting the tunnels and construction of the Hudson County Shaft, approximately 37 metres deep. The shaft will allow the TBMs to be retrieved once excavation is complete.
The Palisades contract is the first mechanised tunnelling package awarded by the GDC as part of the Hudson Tunnel Project. Once the wider project is complete, the additional infrastructure will provide capacity for rail services while allowing the existing Hudson River tunnel to undergo rehabilitation.
The existing tunnel carries more than 200,000 passengers daily on over 450 Amtrak and NJ TRANSIT trains. Maintaining services during the rehabilitation work is a central objective of the programme.
