The Trump administration is on the brink of grinding to a halt the project to build a new rail tunnel under the Hudson River.
The Gateway Development Commission announced Tuesday that it will cease construction of the Hudson Tunnel Project if federal funding is not restored. The project will add two sets of tracks linking New Jersey with Manhattan.
The project has been running on fumes since President Donald Trump announced that he revoked its grants in October. Now its funds are running out, the commission announced Tuesday.
"GDC's contractors will spend the next two weeks winding down work at the active construction sites in New York, New Jersey, and the Hudson River. At that time, construction will stop until additional funding becomes available," a press release from the commission said.
Federal grants are supposed to provide the majority of the project's funds. The U.S. Department of Transportation said in October that it was
Gateway's policies for contracting with women- and minority-owned businesses had been
Since then, the GDC has used available funds and lines of credit to continue work on the tunnel. But those funds will be depleted by Feb. 6.
The Hudson Tunnel Project is projected to cost $16 billion, and roughly $12 billion of that is funded by federal grants. The remainder is funded through USDOT loans, which will be repaid by New York, New Jersey, and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
"GDC has signed and executed funding agreements with all Hudson Tunnel Project funders, including the U.S. Department of Transportation, the Federal Transit Administration, and the Federal Railroad Administration," the press release said. "$4.38 billion in federal funding is currently obligated to the project."
There are four major procurements that comprise the remaining construction packages, according to the GDC's press release, two of which are supposed to begin in 2026. The commission can't award the projects until funding resumes.
The Gateway Commission and its CEO, Thomas Prendergast, stressed that it's the "the most urgent passenger rail infrastructure project in the country." The new Hudson Tunnel, once open, will allow repairs on the 116-year-old North River Tunnel, which was damaged by Hurricane Sandy. When the entire project is complete, capacity will double.
Gateway and its supporters — including both states' governors and members of Congress — are making a new push for the president to release the funds.
"There is only one person who terminated Gateway and there is only one person who can get it back on track," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, said at a meeting of the commission on Tuesday, "and that is President Trump, make no mistake about it."
New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill, a Democrat who took office last week, described Trump's funding of the funds as "
Trump also delayed the Gateway project during his first term, noted Rick Larsen, D-Wash., the ranking Democrat on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.
"Last time the administration delayed the Hudson Tunnels project, it cost taxpayers $2 billion. If the project is stopped, one thousand workers will lose their jobs in less than two weeks, and nearly 100,000 more are at risk if the project is cancelled altogether," Larsen said in a statement.
