The Gateway Development Commission’s board of commissioners on Friday awarded the Hudson River Ground Stabilization Project to Weeks Marine Inc. for expert professional design-build services. The HRGS project marks the first heavy construction contract by GDC on the Hudson Tunnel Project.
The HRGS Project is an important component of the new tunnel project. It will inject a mix of soil, concrete and water to stabilize the riverbed in 1,200 feet of the shallow area on the Manhattan side of the Hudson River. This work will ensure the tunnel boring machine can excavate the new tunnel while protecting the riverbed from disruption.
The award enables work on the HRGS Project to begin this year, joining ongoing construction sites for the HTP that launched in 2023.
The funding includes $284 million for the total contract price with Weeks Marine, along with the approval of a Market Case Estimate in accordance with the HTP Project Development Agreement and the authorization of a Notice to Proceed for Phase I for an amount not to exceed $100 million.
Ground broke last November on both sides of the Hudson River, with construction underway on the Hudson Yards Concrete Casing – Section 3 on Manhattan’s West Side and the Tonnelle Avenue Bridge and Utility Relocation Project in North Bergen.
Five out of the nine packages that comprise the HTP are either already in procurement, awarded or under construction.
In a joint statement, Alicia Glen, New York GDC commissioner and co-chair, Balpreet Grewal-Virk, New Jersey GDC commissioner and co-chair, and Tony Coscia, GDC Amtrak commissioner and vice chair, said: “By authorizing the Hudson Tunnel Project’s first heavy construction work, we are one step closer to crossing the Rubicon and securing this tunnel’s future. Work is on-track and there can be no turning back on the 21st-century transportation experience our riders have long been waiting for.”
“Under the leadership of the (President Joe) Biden administration, Majority Leader (Chuck) Schumer, Govs. (Kathy) Hochul and (Phil) Murphy, our congressional delegation and our board, progress on the Hudson Tunnel Project is an ongoing testament to American infrastructure at its best,” GDC CEO Kris Kolluri said. “The year is starting off the same way last year ended, with GDC hitting our milestones to make sure the most urgent infrastructure project in the nation is built.”
Following a publicly advertised bidding process, Weeks Marine’s proposal was reviewed by an evaluation panel consisting of technical experts and representatives from GDC, the state of New York, New Jersey Transit, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and Amtrak. Weeks Marine was selected through a competitive evaluation of technical and price proposals.
