Caught this view today. Looks like a section of track for the waste wagons being lowered into the TBM launce area.
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That is not rails. The rails are regular railroad rails and are fixed to steel ties. That looks like a walkway.
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Ok, I stand corrected. It is still an interesting bit of hardware.
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It’s really happening. $1.28B contract awarded to drill the Gateway tunnel under the Hudson
The Gateway development commission awarded the contract to tunnel under the Hudson.
The long awaited contract to build the mile-long rail tunnel under the Hudson River was unanimously awarded by the seven members of the Gateway Development Commission board on Monday.
The construction contract was awarded to Traylor/Walsh/Skanska Joint Venture. That was one of three firms that were qualified by the commission, but the only one to submit a proposal, officials said. The action means that all three construction contracts covering the entire tunnel are underway, said Tom Prendergast, Commission CEO.
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At the risk of uttering a phrase that I never thought would come out of my mouth- drill, baby, drill!
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There’s still time for the orange tyrant to find a way to ruin this.
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Here’s some official materials from Gateway announcing the Hudson River contract:
In addition to tunnel boring, some additional work is included:
- Construction of cross passages connecting the tubes
- Ground stabilization by HBLR tracks
- Underground support system construction for the Willow Avenue Bridge in Weehawken
And some diagrams and media:
This diagram can also help visualize the challenges of tunneling under the Hudson River: they have to dig through both soft soil and hard rock, and a new TBM with specialized cutter heads for both conditions will be needed.
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I’m sure they’ve done feasibility studies but guessing that means it wouldn’t be faster to dig slightly deeper to avoid changing the cutting heads then (at least until that 4th joint after which it’s primarily softer).
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A big issue of digging slightly deeper could mean the grade becomes too steep. If its too steep, trains may struggle to climb back up from the deepest point. Even then, they’ll still have to deal with soft soil and thus still have to replace the cutter head.
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Great illustrations. Really explains it in simple terms. 
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I’ve seen Hudson River profile images before, but when I first looked at this one my first thought was whether a submerged tube would have been possible? I’m sure there’s a number of reasons, including the fact they’d still need to drill through the palisades, so continuing with a TBM makes the most sense, but the thought was there. In a vacuum where only the river crossing was analyzed, the depth and soil type does lend itself to dredged cut/submerged tube IMO. Nautical charts have the max depth in this area at 80-100’ I believe so that would have actually been ideal.
I’m sure it was looked at and ruled out. From an engineering perspective it might have been a possibility but it wouldn’t surprise me if it wasn’t projected to actually have any cost savings, especially considering the sunk cost of the TBM required for the NJ tunneling.
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The Palisades Tunnel Portal had the earthworks around the secant wall significantly lowered today! I’d assume they’ll be installing at least one (probably two) more row(s) of tie-backs.
Before:
During:
After:
Additionally, a new concrete pad was poured around the tbm operations area:
If anyone has any theories about the purpose of that pit in the middle of the new pad, please share!
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Looks like they’re preparing for TBM assembly. The earthworks coming down are likely because they are wrapping up stabilization and now going to prepare to dig out the remaining 75 feet or so into the rock face and finish the launch box area.
I also noticed a bunch of hardware on-site and rails. The coming weeks are likely going to be very interesting.
The pit, I don’t know what it is for, but there are some kind of rails on each end, so it could be something, or it’s for a utility structure.
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Regarding the pit, it seems plausible that trucks could drive into there, to be below the debris level, so it could be dumped into them from rail carriages?
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That is plausible and likely why its there. But that is not the pit we are discussing
. On the new concrete slab by the TBM parts, there is a small pit that was left open.
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Hopefully this is not too off topic for this thread but I think those who are interested in the Gateway tunnel and it’s construction would enjoy this book - Rails Under the Mighty Hudson: The Story of the Hudson Tubes, the Pennsylvania Tunnels, and Manhattan Transfer (Hudson Valley Heritage): Cudahy, Brian J.: 9780823221905: Amazon.com: Books. It tells the story of the existing rail tunnels under the hudson river.
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Some updates regarding the mystery trench at the Palisade Tunnel site at Tonnelle Ave:
There’s a red outline around the concrete pad, and I am increasingly starting to suspect it may be part of a building to service narrow gauge locomotives used to push the spoil carts around. A pit in a maintenance building would permit crews to inspect the motors and undercarriage components.
Here’s a video showing the status of the Portal Bridge as well. Notable highlights include the demolition of the original PRR two-track bridge over the former Erie Railroad Newark Branch/NJT Boonton Line ROW, which enables finishing of the new bridge over that old ROW. A lot of the original line’s high voltage lines have also been cut off as well, as high voltage transmission has been moved to the new bridge’s poles.
Another area where work is taking place is building the ROW to connect to the remaining track still served by the old Portal Bridge.
This is why the 2nd track won’t be ready until sometime this fall.
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unnecessary comment
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Try living in reality. Do you actually pay attention to the news and what this admin attempts when it comes to NY projects?
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I like your thought on potential maintenance! It would definitely be a tight working space, but that’s the most promising idea for sure. It would be interesting if they start to set up a covered shed along that red line. We’ll have to see how they tie the maintenance track in as well.
Also, do you know if the portal north bridge project involves demolishing the old one? I’m assuming their utility relocations and such are setting up for the eventual portal bridge south as well.
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