By rosebell
This spring is the date that work on the new Hudson rail tunnel is scheduled to move ahead with two tunnel boring machines (TBMs) built specifically for the scheme en route to New Jersey, US.
While the date of arrival of the first TBM is January, the second is due to be shipped in early 2026, as the Gateway Development Commission (GDC) said.
The location of assembling both machines is the base of the Palisades in North Bergen.
According to 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.”
As the location where equipment is going to construct almost one mile of the new tunnel on the New Jersey side of the Hudson River,digging will begin at the Palisades Tunnel segment.
Installing concrete lining as they advance,the TBMs will drive two parallel bores at the same time.
The daily advance of each machine is expected to be about 30 feet of tunnel.
In a joint statement, GDC commissioners said: “We are on the verge of a new phase of the Hudson Tunnel Project. When the two tunnel boring machines that were manufactured this year begin their journey under the Palisades, it will represent a major step forward for the project.”
The Palisades Tunnel contract was granted to the Schiavone Dragados Lane joint venture by GDC in previous August and this was the first tunnel boring package let under the overall program.
