A new $16 billion rail tunnel will connect New Jersey and New York City

What the tunnel means for the regional economy

James Hughes, professor and dean emeritus of the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University, said the current Northeast Corridor rail line is not up to the standards of high-speed rail travel in Europe, but it carries more passengers between New York and Washington, D.C. than airlines.

“It is critical for moving people up and down the corridor,” he said. “So it is extraordinarily important to the regional economy; the regional economy is the largest part of the U.S. economy.”

He said the tunnel will allow for more mobility and convenience for commuters and “is vitally, vitally important.”

A report released at the beginning of the week by the Regional Plan Association finds that the Hudson Tunnel Project will generate $19.6 billion in economic activity and create approximately 95,000 jobs during its construction.

Hughes noted the specific impact of the number of jobs created and the amount of economic activity generated is always hard to predict, “but certainly it will be one of the largest infrastructure construction projects, perhaps ever.”

Sigmund agreed the project is vital because it gives Jersey residents easy access to “quality, reliable rail transportation, because so many people use it to get to and from their jobs and to and from entertainment.”

The project’s timeline

Sigmund said work on the Hudson Tunnel began on both sides of the river last November, and that the Hudson River ground stabilization project will begin this summer.

“Where the tunnel comes up, as it gets towards Manhattan, the bottom of the Hudson River has a sort of chocolate pudding consistency there,” he said. “And it needs to be hardened with a combination of soil and water and concrete so that the tunnel-boring machines can get through.”

He said the new tunnels should be completed in 2034. As part of the project, construction workers are renovating the two existing tubes one at a time. The whole project, along with renovations, should be done in 2038.

Who is funding the Hudson Tunnel Project?

Sigmund said $12 billion is coming in as federal investment. “It’s really an unprecedented amount of federal money towards a mass transit project, but it’s necessary because this is a critical link,” he said.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, along with New York and New Jersey, is investing $4 billion, with Jersey responsible for $300 million.

The Garden State is already paying $1.6 billion to build a new Portal North Bridge, a few miles from where the Northeast Corridor line moves underground and goes under the Hudson River.