Preliminary work is underway on the first heavy construction contract for the Hudson Tunnel Project, according to Danish civil engineering firm Cowi.
The Gateway Development Commission awarded a design-build contract for the $284 million Hudson River Ground Stabilization Project to Kiewit subsidiary Weeks Marine earlier this year. Cowi will serve as the design manager and engineer of record on the New York City job, the firm said in an Oct. 29 news release shared with Construction Dive.
The work is part of the $16 billion Gateway Program, which will double capacity for Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor rail segment connecting New Jersey and New York City.
Design for the containment structure is underway, and construction on a test cofferdam was completed in October, according to Cowi. Construction work is expected to begin next summer.
The overall Hudson Tunnel Project entails building a new two-track rail tunnel under the Hudson River between North Jersey and Manhattan, then rehabilitating the 110-year-old tunnel that was seriously damaged by Hurricane Sandy in 2012. The decaying tunnel poses a bottleneck for New Jersey commuters and Amtrak passengers, and President Joe Biden called the Gateway Program “one of the biggest, most consequential projects in the country.”
Weeks Marine will modify and stabilize the soil in the shallow area of the river near the Manhattan shoreline. This will prepare the ground for the tunnel boring machine that will excavate the new tunnel and ensure the riverbed is protected from disruption, according to a LinkedIn post from Omaha, Nebraska-based Kiewit.
Cowi is responsible for developing a temporary containment structure to protect the riverbed from disruption as it works with Weeks Marine and its ground improvement subcontractor, Keller Group. Teams will complete each of the two 600-foot sections sequentially to minimize impact on vessel traffic, per Cowi.
The full ground stabilization project is expected to be complete in 2027, according to Cowi.
