Giant tunnel-boring machines nearly the length of two football fields will dig a new rail tunnel under the Hudson River, linking Manhattan to New Jersey. The project, one of the largest US mass transit schemes in generations, is expected to cost $16 billion and aims to ease a bottleneck on the busiest passenger rail corridor in the nation.
The machines, equipped with diamond-hard cutters, will chew through dense rock while a crew of about 40 oversees a conveyor system removing debris and installing the tunnel's concrete lining. James Starace, chief of program delivery for the Gateway Development Commission, described the operation as a 'fully automated, underground factory'.
The tunnel-boring machines arrived from Germany in nearly 100 components, like 'Lego pieces', according to chief engineer Hamed Nejad. Outside the tunnel's future entrance, welders are fusing pieces of the massive cutterheads. Once digging starts later this year, the machines are expected to advance about 30 feet per day through the tough volcanic rock of the New Jersey Palisades.
The new tunnel will run almost 2.5 miles (4 kilometers) with two tracks, while the original tunnel, damaged by saltwater during Superstorm Sandy, will be renovated. Danny Pearlstein of the Riders Alliance noted that America has grown unaccustomed to building megaprojects at this scale, which has contributed to the cost.
The project received key approvals and funding under the Biden administration, but faced a freeze under the Trump administration due to concerns over diversity, equity and inclusion principles. A federal judge ordered the release of funds in February, and money has continued flowing as a lawsuit by New York and New Jersey against the federal government proceeds.
