Credit: Gateway Development Commission
Tunnel boring for the Gateway project, which will replace the aging Hudson River rail tunnel between New York and New Jersey, is set to begin next summer. The Gateway Development Corporation (GDC) announced last week that two massive tunnel boring machines (TBMs) will arrive early next year to start digging the 2.4-mile connection to Penn Station. The machines are expected to take about a year to dig the first mile of tunnel in North Bergen, where crews have spent the past two years preparing the site.
Built by Germany-based manufacturer Herrenknecht, the massive boring machines measure nearly 29 feet in diameter and stretch longer than a football field. The cutting-edge equipment will carve through the rock beneath the Palisades, according to Crain’s.
Procurement, manufacturing, and factory assembly of the first and second TBMs are 85 and 73 percent complete, respectively. Manufacturing of the first machine is expected to wrap up in the coming weeks, with both completed by November. Once finished, the machines will be shipped to NJ for on-site assembly before boring operations start in 2026…