en.Wedoany.com Reported - The Gateway Development Commission has awarded a $711.7 million contract for the construction of the ground segment in New Jersey. This is a critical approach section of the $16 billion Hudson Tunnel Project, which will connect the future rail tunnel under the Hudson River to the Northeast Corridor in New Jersey.
The contract, approved on June 1, was awarded through a competitive procurement process to the Skanska Creamer Sanzari NJSA JV. During this procurement, four teams were shortlisted, but only two submitted proposals: the Skanska Creamer Sanzari NJSA JV and the Walsh Ferreira JV. Gateway officials stated that George Harms Construction Co./Hardesty & Hanover and the team led by Halmar International, New Jersey Alignment Contractors, declined to bid.
The ground segment project will construct approximately 1.5 miles of new railway infrastructure, extending from County Road in Secaucus, New Jersey, to the tunnel entrance at Tonnelle Avenue in North Bergen, New Jersey. The work includes 4,170 feet of retaining walls and embankments, a 3,150-foot viaduct structure spanning the Meadowlands wetlands, and bridges crossing Secaucus Road and the active Conrail and New York Susquehanna & Western freight rail lines. This package also includes utility relocations, drainage improvements, and other supporting infrastructure. Future contracts will install tracks, signals, and other railway systems.
Most of the ground segment will run along an embankment adjacent to the existing Northeast Corridor or on elevated structures over the Meadowlands wetlands. Construction will proceed concurrently with ongoing passenger and freight rail operations, requiring extensive coordination, phased construction, and safety controls while maintaining environmental requirements.
With this latest award, seven of the ten construction packages comprising the Hudson Tunnel Project are now underway or completed. Ground segment construction is expected to begin later this year, and Gateway spokesperson Jake McNichol stated that the project will be completed by 2030. This package is the last major contract award related to the New Jersey tunnel approach, following Gateway's selection in April of a joint venture of Traylor Bros., Walsh Construction, and Skanska USA for the $1.29 billion Hudson River tunnel segment. Gateway CEO Tom Prendergast said in a statement that the project is "in full swing across worksites in New York and New Jersey" and, due to the variety of work involved and its location, will require "extensive coordination and careful planning."
The contract incorporates alternative technical concepts proposed by seven contractors approved during the procurement process. These changes include the use of higher-strength steel reinforcement, lightweight foam concrete fill at retaining walls, alternative testing methods for drilled shafts and piles, tie-mounted prisms for track monitoring, and modifications to viaduct and bridge access design sections. Gateway stated that these concepts are expected to reduce costs, minimize environmental impact, and improve long-term maintainability.
The Hudson Tunnel Project is the core of the broader Gateway Program, aimed at expanding capacity and improving reliability on the busiest segment of the Northeast Corridor, which carries approximately 800,000 passenger trips daily. Once completed, the new tunnel will supplement the existing North River Tunnel, enabling a full rehabilitation of the century-old passage, which was damaged during Superstorm Sandy in 2012, while maintaining rail service between New Jersey and Manhattan. The overall project is targeted for completion by 2035.
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