Gateway Development Commission refines Hudson Tunnel procurement strategy into four packages

The Hudson Tunnel Project’s largest component, construction of a new tunnel, will be delivered using four packages according to an updated procurement strategy detailed by the Gateway Development Commission this week.

The project includes three components: Rehabilitation of the existing North River Tunnel, Hudson Yards Concrete Casing , Section 3 and the largest component, which is a new two-track Hudson River rail tunnel connecting Bergen Palisades in New Jersey to New York Penn Station in Manhattan. The new tunnel, referred to as the civil works portion of the project, includes two, 2.4-mile-long tubes and will now be built in four packages.

The Gateway Development Commission (GDC) says dividing the work into four packages will “ensure there is a robust and competitive bidding pool for the work.”

“The industry that will build the Hudson Tunnel Project advised us the best way to ensure a competitive bidding pool was to divide up the largest, most complicated portion of the project into multiple pieces of work. We listened,” said GDC CEO Kris Kolluri.

The four packages include:

• Package EA1, Hudson River Ground Stabilization, delivered via Design-Build: An early works project that is expected to commence prior to the project’s full construction. The work will stabilize the river bottom to create an improved condition for the tunnel to be bored. GDC says the work will comply with all environmental regulations to ensure the protection of the river and be conducted only during specified time ranges to protect fish spawning and wildlife.
• Package 1A, delivered via Design-Bid-Build: Construction of the portion of the tunnel through the Palisades to the construction shaft in Hoboken, N.J.
• Package 1B, delivered via Design-Build: The section of the tunnel going through the bulkhead of the west side of Manhattan, under Hudson River Park and connecting to the new construction shaft between West 30th and 29th Streets.
• Package 1C, delivered via Design-Bid-Build: The tunneling under the Hudson River from the new construction shaft in Hoboken to the new construction shaft in Manhattan.

The GDC also plans additional early works for Package 1 projects, including: The Manhattan Bulkhead Tunneling Work, Excavation Work Near 12th Avenue in New York and the Tonnelle Avenue Area Portal Preparation Work. GDC says each of these advance the design of their respective package, helping de-risk the project by providing more certainty to contractors.

“Our job is to get the Hudson Tunnel Project built,” said GDC Co-Chair and New Jersey Commissioner Balpreet Grewal-Virk. “Advancing critically important parts of the project and developing contracting strategies with private industry that will ensure a competitive, qualified group of bidders, are key steps to staying ahead of the game, keeping the Gateway Hudson Tunnel Project moving forward and delivering this project for the region and the nation.”

GDC utilized a “Market Sounding” event for more than 200 members of the industry and a series of one-on-one follow up meetings with the potential contracts to develop and inform the new procurement strategy. GDC reports the early works and tunnel packages were further refined in partnership with the Federal Transit Administration, as part of the work to advance the Capital Investment Grant process GDC is currently undergoing.

"GDC is committed to building the Hudson Tunnel Project efficiently and effectively. We are working hand-in-hand with the private sector to meet that commitment, so there is competition and innovation that delivers a more reliable, 21st century experience for millions of riders,” said GDC Co-Chair and New York Commissioner Alicia Glen.

GDC Vice-Chair and Amtrak Commissioner Tony Coscia added, “This project is vital to keeping hundreds of thousands of passengers moving up and down the Northeast Corridor every day. We will always move nimbly in ensuring we are utilizing best practices in contracting and in moving early work forward, so we can finally replace a more than century old tunnel that the nation’s economy relies upon with modern, 21st century rail.”

GDC anticipates the initial contract, the Hudson River Ground Stabilization Contract Package EA1, will begin the procurement process in the coming period with a Request for Qualifications. Procurement for the Palisades Tunnel Contract Package 1A will follow soon thereafter.

The Hudson Tunnel Project, which carries an estimated cost of $16 million, has been dubbed the most important infrastructure project in the U.S. The existing North River Tunnel is the sole passenger rail connection between Manhattan, New Jersey and the Northeast Corridor.

Earlier this year, a component of the Hudson Tunnel Project, the Hudson Yards Concrete Casing, Section 3 project, was awarded a $292.17 million National Infrastructure Project Assistance Grant.