In June 2019 the Gateway
Development Commission became a bi-state organization, with new authority and ability
to receive the federal grants and loans necessary to deliver the Gateway
Program of projects. In the coming
period, as Commissioners are nominated and approved and the bi-state Commission
is formed, the GDC (Gateway Program Development Corporation), a partnership
between New York, New Jersey and Amtrak,
will continue advancing the Hudson Tunnel & Portal North Bridge
Projects to ensure to move Gateway forward as quickly as possible.
On August 23rd, 2019 GDC
submitted an updated financial plan to the FTA (Federal Transit Administration)
by which construction of a new rail tunnel beneath the Hudson River and the
comprehensive rehabilitation of the existing 108 year old North River tunnel will cost approximately USD1.4
bn less than previously anticipated, resulting in an estimated cost of USD9.5bn
for the new tunnel and USD1.8 bn for the rehabilitation of the old tunnel.
The reduced cost results from
work conducted at the request of Governors to position the project to advance
quickly once the federal permits are issued. This works includes a more
advanced level of design and an intensive value-for-money analysis, including
analysis of risks and associated mitigations, a more efficient contracting plan
resulting in fewer contract packages and consideration of delivery methods
including design-build. The new Hudson River Tunnel’s level of design is now at
30% threshold the level typically used to move forward to bid for projects of
this type.
In addition the financial plan
submitted reflects the project partners’ intent to request an early system work
agreement that would allow boring of the new Hudson River Tunnel in
anticipation of a Full Funding Grant Agreement, saving the overall projects
considerable time and money and providing a clear pathway for the completion of
the remainder of the new tunnel and rehabilitation of the existing tunnel.
Click here and us/21 for the
tunnebuilder archive. Visit http://www.gatewayprogram.org,
http://www.hudsontunnelproject.com/
and https://nec.amtrak.com/project/the-hudson-tunnel-project/.
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