NEW YORK — The last portion of a massive concrete box to carry the planned Gateway Tunnel project under development in Manhattan will cost more than $690 million — which could leave Amtrak to come up with more than $260 million in funding, NJ.com reports.
The Gateway Development Commission, the bi-state organization overseeing the planned Gateway Program projects, on Tuesday approved resolutions for construction of the last third of the tunnel box project, which began in 2013. Those resolutions include an estimated cost of $692.7 million and agreement on funding. The states of New York and New Jersey will each contribute $69.27 million, and Amtrak will contribute $292.1 million through a federal mega grant announced by President Joe Biden in January [see “Biden announces $292 million in funding …,” Trains News Wire, Jan. 31, 2023].
But Amtrak is also responsible for the remainder — some $262.1 million — as well as any costs that exceed the current estimate.
The section of tunnel box under the Hudson Yards area will be 550 feet long, 50 to 65 feet wide, and 27 to 38 feet high, with walls ranging from 3.5 to 10 feet thick. It will support further development above the box while creating a pathway for the eventual construction of the tunnel.
NJ.com reports “very tentative” schedules call for preparatory work for tunneling to begin in 2024, with actual tunneling to begin in late 2025 and end in spring 2029.
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