US – HUDSON TUNNEL | PROJECT
STEPS ACROSS THE HUDSON Plans to improve the rail connections under the Hudson have been in development for years, bringing many large transport organizations and government authorities together. Over that time, during the project development there have been numerous adjustments considered, sought, called for, agreed to and made along the way. The GDC partnership organization includes Amtrak, NJ
Transit and the Port Authority of NY & NJ. Both states – New Jersey and New York – also have strong inputs. An earlier incarnation of the project plans was the
Access to the Region’s Core (ARC) project, but that push toward construction stalled around 2009. Being so long in planning, there were even some early
construction works, on the back of the ARC proposals – including structures such as an initial concrete portal built in the Hudson Yards site, in west Manhattan. It was built early, ahead of other local building work, in anticipation of the larger Hudson tunnel works that had to, eventually, come. What also came were budget adjustments. But the
plans kept on. And, while some budget trimming was undertaken
for the new tunnel plans, also at times the budget for the rehabilitation of the existing tunnel increased. The existing tunnel, opened in 1910, was only getting older and being so heavily used the demands on it unrelenting. There have been issues with power lines, tracks, signals and more, apart from the problems experienced due to Hurricane Sandy. Still, it would have to wait its turn until after the new tunnel is built and becomes operational. By around 2018-19, GDC’s view of the funding
picture, and anticipated approvals, indicated that major construction work might, optimistically, get going by early 2020. Or around 2021, or soon after. The Covid pandemic, of course, got in the way of everyone’s plans. The Hudson Tunnel Project is now in procurement.
LOOKING TO EARLY WORKS GDC launched a procurement initiative earlier this year to pave the way for the main works of The Hudson Tunnel Project. These are the first construction contracts that will be managed by GDC. The two procurement packages are for construction
works needed for the Tonnelle Avenue Bridge in North Bergen, NJ, and Utility Relocation, respectively. The bridge is needed to carry road traffic in Tonnelle
Avenue over the alignment of the new tunnel. The Tonnelle Avenue right of way is to connect directly to the opening of the underground portion of the Hudson Tunnel, to be located at the western slope of the New Jersey Palisades. Construction is expected to begin in 2023. The contracts are being procured with the support
of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, include an Invitation for Bid (IfB) for a contractor to build the project and a Request for Proposal (RfP) for Construction Management Services for a firm to assist GDC with oversight and management of the works.
There are some further early works, such as ground stabilization, as noted below.
A PROCUREMENT CHANGE GDC has revised its contract strategy for the main works of The Hudson Tunnel Project. The Commission has changed its procurement
strategy for the main works by dividing the civil engineering main construction works into four packages instead of a huge single lot. The civil works is the largest portion of the Hudson
Tunnel Project, comprising the excavation and construction of the new tunnel under the Palisades, in NJ, and then below the Hudson River, and then on to connect into Penn Station in Manhattan, NY. Following feedback from private sector contractors
at a market engagement event, undertaken in February this year, the GDC then quickly adjusted its proposed procurement plan away from going all-in with a single works package. GDC has divided the civils works into four contract packages rather than the one lot it had previously envisaged. GDC’s CEO, Kris Kolluri, said industry feedback
indicated the best way to ensure a competitive bidding pool was to divide the largest, most complicated portion of the project into multiple pieces of work. The four civils works packages now for procurement
are: ● Package 1A: the portion of the tunnel through the Palisades to the construction shaft in Hoboken, New Jersey, which will be delivered via Design-Bid-Build.
● Package 1B: the section of the tunnel through the bulkhead of the West Side of Manhattan, under Hudson River Park and connecting to the new construction shaft between West 30th and 29th Streets, to be delivered via Design-Build.
● Package 1C: tunneling under the Hudson River from the new construction shaft in Hoboken to the new construction shaft in Manhattan, which is to be delivered via Design-Bid-Build.
● Package EA1: the Hudson River Ground Stabilization package involves fortifying and stabilizing the riverbed on the New York side of the Hudson River. It is another early work project, which is expected to start prior to the project’s full construction and will be delivered via Design-Build.
The Commission also plans additional early works for Package 1 projects, including: the Manhattan bulkhead tunneling work; excavation work near 12th Avenue in New York; and, as noted above, the Tonnelle Avenue area portal preparation work. Packages 1A & 1B are scheduled to commence work
in 2024. This timing comes after GDC receives the Full Funding Grant Agreement under the Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) Capital Investment Grants Program is signed with FTA. Package 1C is scheduled to commence work in
2025. Summer 2023 | 13 Above:
Existing North River Tunnel (west portal) – to be rehabilitated within the Hudson Project PHOTO CREDIT: AMTRAK
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57
