The Gateway Development Commission (GDC) announced at its recent board meeting that manufacturing and testing of the first two tunnel boring machines (TBMs) are complete. The TBMs will be used for the construction of the Hudson Tunnel Project (HTP).
The TBMs will be shipped to New Jersey, where they will be assembled on-site at the base of the Palisades in North Bergen. Components of the first TBM will begin arriving at the construction site in January, and tunnel boring will begin in the spring.
“Completing the factory acceptance tests for the first set of tunnel boring machines is a significant milestone,” said GDC CEO Thomas Prendergast. “These TBMs are not standard construction equipment. They are massive, highly complex machines that have been custom-built for the Hudson Tunnel Project. Producing them is an impressive feat in and of itself.
“The two years of work that our teams on the ground in New Jersey have done to prepare for the arrival of the TBMs is just as impressive. Reaching this milestone on schedule sends a clear message: GDC is delivering as promised, and we will continue to deliver in the years ahead.”
The TBMs will be used to build roughly one mile of the new rail tunnel on the New Jersey side of the Hudson River. They will bore the two parallel tunnel tubes simultaneously, installing the concrete tunnel liner behind them as they go. Each machine will build approximately 30 feet of new tunnel per day.
The factory acceptance test for the first TBM was completed in September. The test for the second machine took place in early December.
The first TBM is currently being shipped. Components will arrive at Port Elizabeth, New Jersey, and Baltimore in January. From there, they will be trucked to the construction site in North Bergen. On-site assembly and testing will take roughly three months, putting this TBM on track to begin tunnel boring in the spring.
The second TBM will ship in early 2026. Components will begin to arrive at the North Bergen construction site in March, and the machine will begin tunnel boring in the summer.
The Gateway Development Commission will hold a public board meeting on Dec. 15 beginning at 10:00 am, at the NJ Transit Board Room, located at 2 Gateway, 283-299 Market Street, 2nd Floor, in Newark.
