US: $11 Billion in Grants and Financing for Hudson River Tunnel Project

The Biden-Harris Administration has awarded 11 billion USD in grants and financing for the Hudson River Tunnel Project.

Currently, a 114-year-old passenger rail tunnel spans a vital economic corridor between New York and New Jersey. This infrastructure is in critical need of modernisation and replacement following damage during 2012’s Superstorm Sandy.

To address this need, the Hudson River Tunnel Project will construct a new rail tunnel between New York and New Jersey, forming one of the largest infrastructure projects in American history.

North River Tunnels under Hudson River
North River Tunnels under Hudson River

To support this project, the US Department of Transportation (USDOT) has signed a full funding grant agreement through the Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) Capital Investment Grants (CIG) programme. This will invest around 6.9 billion USD to help build the new tunnel and rehabilitate the existing North River Tunnel, representing the largest-ever grant signed by FTA.

In addition, US Transportation Secretary Buttigieg has approved three Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing (RRIF) loans through DOT’s Build America Bureau. These total 4.1 billion USD to provide financial support at below-market interest rates.

US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said:

“For decades, Americans watched one of the most heavily-used train tunnels in the hemisphere deteriorate and become a bottleneck that affected travellers from New England to the Mid-Atlantic and beyond. Today, President Biden is making good on his promise to fix that and build the Hudson Tunnel Project. Using funds from the President's infrastructure law, we are building a new tunnel that improves train travel for millions of Americans and revitalises a rail corridor that is essential to so much of the nation's economy. And as one of the cathedrals of American infrastructure, this project can demonstrate America's capacity to build big things together in the 21st Century.”

The Hudson Tunnel Project includes several key components:

  • A new double-track tunnel between the Bergen Palisades in New Jersey and Manhattan in New York City
  • Rehabilitating the North River Tunnel damaged by Superstorm Sandy in 2012
  • Creating a concrete casing at Hudson Yards to allow the new tunnel to connect to New York-Penn Station

Together, these elements aim to enhance service, improve reliability, modernise design, and mitigate the impact of future natural disasters to deliver a seamless rail network.

The new tunnel and the rehabilitated tunnel are expected to open by 2038 and will be used by Amtrak and NJ Transit trains to enhance passenger services.

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