Crews launched the first tunnel boring machine for the $16 billion Gateway Tunnel project on Monday, Sept. 28, starting construction on the first new rail tunnel under the Hudson River since 1910.
The milestone matters directly to Summit, New Providence and Berkeley Heights residents who ride NJ Transit's Morristown Line into Penn Station New York. That Midtown Direct service runs through the existing North River Tunnel, a 116-year-old passage that was severely damaged by flooding during Superstorm Sandy in 2012 and has been a chronic source of delays ever since.
The boring machine, weighing more than 1,680 tons and stretching 500 feet long with a cutterhead more than 28 feet wide, will carve through hard rock beneath the Palisades Cliffs in North Bergen. A second machine will follow shortly. Together they will dig nearly one mile to a shaft on the Weehawken-Hoboken border over the next year, advancing roughly 30 feet per day, according to the Governor's office. At least 40 workers will operate the machines.
Once that section is complete, a second pair of machines will bore the stretch under the Hudson River itself.
New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill, who championed the project as a congresswoman, said at the ceremony in North Bergen: "I know this machine only goes in one direction — forward. I hope that motivates us to keep driving Gateway forward no matter what else gets thrown in our way," according to The City Reporter.
The project hit a snag when the Trump administration froze federal funding in fall 2025, citing DEI concerns. Work briefly stopped in February 2026 after the line of credit ran out. The Gateway Development Commission, New York and New Jersey filed separate lawsuits, and courts ordered federal payments restored. The City Reporter reported that Sherrill said the states had taken the administration to court five times and won each time.
The federal government holds a $6.8 billion grant agreement for the project. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is contributing $2.7 billion, with New York and New Jersey covering the rest.
The new two-tube tunnel is expected to open for passenger service in 2035. After that, the existing North River Tunnel will be fully rehabilitated by 2038, giving the corridor a modern four-track system. More than 200,000 passengers ride through the current tunnel on hundreds of NJ Transit and Amtrak trains each weekday.
What Summit-area riders should know now
Before the new tunnel arrives, Midtown Direct commuters face a more immediate change. Starting Sunday, Oct. 11, all weekday Midtown Direct trains on the Morristown Line, Gladstone Branch and Montclair-Boonton Line will be diverted to Hoboken instead of Penn Station through Saturday, Nov. 14, as part of the Portal North Bridge Phase 2 cutover. NJ Transit said riders diverted to Hoboken will be cross-honored on PATH, NY Waterway ferry service to West 39th Street, and the 126 bus to the Port Authority Bus Terminal. Regular schedules are expected to resume Sunday, Nov. 15, pending safety testing.
The Portal North Bridge is a separate Gateway Program project replacing the 1910-era swing bridge over the Hackensack River, another longtime source of Northeast Corridor delays.
Coming up: Midtown Direct service diverts to Hoboken, Sunday, Oct. 11 through Saturday, Nov. 14. Check njtransit.com/portalcutover for updated schedules.
