Listen to this article

The Gateway Development Commission (GDC), which is overseeing the Hudson Tunnel Project (HTP), this week released a video animation outlining what will take place as part of a major early work component of the recently started project.

In late November, officials held a groundbreaking ceremony to mark the beginning of construction on the Tonnelle Avenue Bridge and Utility Relocation Project. That effort involves moving utilities and the construction of a new roadway bridge for Tonnelle Avenue in North Bergen. That new crossing will be located immediately above a new future railroad right-of-way. The GDC says that will allow for a connection to the new tunnel portal at the western slope of the New Jersey Palisades.

This portion of the work is also critical because it will provide construction access between the staging sites on either side of Tonnelle Avenue as well as access to the entry point for the tunnel boring machines that will dig the Palisades Tunnel portion of the project.

GDC’s animated explainer offers a full rundown of the different phases of the project, which is expected to be completed by the fall of 2025. It includes a timeline and how the construction will navigate around issues, such as traffic, pedestrians, storm runoff, the utility relocation and more.

“Digging a tunnel under the Hudson River isn’t easy. (One reason why it hasn’t been attempted in over a century!),” the GDC (@GatewayProgNews) wrote in a Jan. 8 post on X, formerly Twitter. “And we’re working to keep you updated from start to finish. Here’s what you’ll see at NJ’s first Hudson Tunnel Project construction site.”

Check out the animation video below:

“The third and final section of the bridge is constructed on the eastern side of Tonnelle Avenue – clearing the way for the resilient and reliable Hudson Tunnel to commence,” the video says as it nears the end after running through the construction process. “This state-of-the-art tunnel crossing will serve this region for the next 100 years.”

The project animation comes on the heels of a letter put out in late December by GDC Chief Executive Officer Kris Kolluri, as reported by NJBIZ, that recapped the major steps this critical infrastructure project took in 2023 as well as the goals and next steps ahead in 2024.

“2023 was a vitally important year for the Hudson Tunnel Project,” Kolluri wrote in the Dec. 27 wrap-up to GDC commissioners, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, and Amtrak leaders. “This year, together with all of you and our partners, the Gateway Development Commission moved HTP from aspirational to unstoppable.”