USA: Project promoter Gateway Development Commission says it is hopeful that work can quickly resume on the trans-Hudson rail tunnel it is building between New York and New Jersey.
The Gateway Programme is widely regarded as the essential component to futureproof the infrastructure on the 735 km Boston – New York – Washington DC main line, which is among the busiest mixed-use routes in North America. However, the project to bore a second tunnel under the Hudson River has in recent months come into the crosshairs of the Trump administration, which has sought to suspend federal funding to projects which are aligned with policies it disapproves of .
On October 1 2025, the federal government announced that approximately $18bn in funding for the Gateway Programme and New York‘s Second Avenue Subway scheme would be paused pending a review to ‘ensure funding is not flowing based on unconstitutional DEI principles’. DEI refers to the diversity, equality and inclusion policies which have been a frequent target of the Trump administration’s ire.
Work stops
At the end of January, GDC warned that the looming cessation of federal funding would mean that work on the tunnel, where civil works have been ongoing since late 2024 following confirmation of a funding package for the project worth $16bn in July of that year.
However, in response to the impending shutdown, GDC filed a lawsuit on February 2 seeking disbursement of $205m from the federal Department of Transportation. On February 6, when work on the project ceased, the states of New York and New Jersey launched their own legal action to restore funding.
A US district judge found in favour of the plaintiffs and gave the federal government until February 12 to respond to her order for an initial $30m of funding to be released. No response was forthcoming, leaving GDC and state officials open to resume work.
In a statement on February 13, the project promoter said ‘GDC is grateful to New York and New Jersey for their support in restoring our access to the federal funding for the Hudson Tunnel Project. We have received an initial disbursement of $30m from the federal government and expect to receive the full $205m in reimbursement funds. Construction remains paused for now, and we are working with our contractors to plan how to deploy these funds in the most effective way and get workers back on the job to resume some construction as soon as possible.’
The Gateway Programme covers construction of a second pair of railway tunnels under the Hudson River, requiring 4 km of twin-bore excavation and 2∙2 km of new alignment by 2035. Rehabilitation of the existing 1910 twin-bore North River Tunnel is planned by 2038, enhancing capacity for both Amtrak inter-city and NJ Transit commuter rail services.
