A new underground tunnel will conveniently connect NYC to Hoboken and Jersey City
Billed as the most urgent infrastructure project in the country, this long-anticipated plan includes building a brand-new, two-tube tunnel beneath the Hudson River while revamping the current 115-year-old tunnel that's been limping along since the Pennsylvania Railroad opened it in 1910. The goal? Redundancy, reliability and (finally) some rail resiliency for the hundreds of thousands of daily commuters who rely on Amtrak and NJ Transit.
Five construction projects are already underway on both sides of the river, including the Tonnelle Avenue Bridge in North Bergen and the Hudson Yards Concrete Casing in Manhattan. The new tunnel will stretch nine miles, connecting the Palisades to Penn Station and eventually adding two more tracks to the busiest stretch of passenger rail in the country.
Beyond commuter convenience, this is a job-making machine: The project is expected to generate 95,000 jobs and nearly $20 billion in economic activity. That's not just a tunnel—it's a stimulus package with a shovel.
And the timing couldn't be more critical. The Northeast Corridor moves 200,000 people daily and powers 20% of the U.S. economy. Without this upgrade, a tunnel shutdown for repairs would cost the country over $100 million per day in lost time and productivity. 'The century-old tunnel is the single point of failure for the entire Northeast corridor,' Gateway Development Commission chief of public outreach Steve Sigmund told Hoboken Girl.
The new tunnel and a fully rehabbed original are expected to open by 2038. Until then, keep your MetroCard handy, but rest easy knowing a smoother, faster and less panic-inducing ride is finally on track.
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