NEW YORK — Amtrak will spend about $150 million to repair its existing tunnels between New Jersey and New York’s Penn Station as it awaits construction of two new tunnels on the Northeast Corridor route.
Bloomberg reports the plans for the North River Tunnel, built in 1910, are outlined in a report week outlining work over the next two years. Repairs will be performed nights and weekends to address damage stemming from the 2012 flooding caused by Hurricane Sandy, including deteriorating concrete and corroding cables.
“Leak mitigation will enhance overall safety within the tunnels,” the report says, according to Bloomberg. “Track workers and the traveling public will be less exposed to safety hazards caused by falling concrete, formation of icicles, and slippery walkway surfaces.” The problems are worse in the north tube of the twin tunnels.
Amtrak is hoping to finally advance the Gateway tunnel project, connecting New Jersey and New York, with funding from the recently passed infrastructure bill. Once those two bores are complete, the existing tunnels would undergo major renovation, eventually giving the Northeast Corridor significantly increased capacity.
The story uses the word “Tunnel.” There are actually two North River tubes, side by side. Each is signalled for movement in both directions and there are crossovers on the NJ side and the throat of Penn Station on the NY side so trains may use either tube on signal indication.
NOTE: “North River” is the old (Dutch) name for the Hudson River and is still used for navigation.
When AMTK worked on the North River tubes a few years ago, they did the work on weekends, one tube at a time, using the other tube for traffic operating 20 minutes in one direction, 10 minutes to clear the tube, 20 minutes in the other direction and 10 minutes to clear the tube. Schedules were written to permit these movementa.
Just to add a note for those not familiar, the “South River” is the Delaware.
The Big Question: What protections do Amtrak and NJ Transit have in place should there be more flooding. This is NOT due to Man-Made Global Climate Change–NYC is lucky that the Great Hurricane of 1821 hit an hour after low tide. A similar storm today at high tide might wipe NYC out and AMTK would have to go back to ferries and car-floats, perhaps with tracks rebuilt to Newburgh and Fishkill Landing. Boston MA learned teh hard way about protecting against recurring floods in 1996 after a multi-million dollar loss on the flooding of the Green Line Subway when no one could find the barriers made after the 1962 flooding. (They built new ones–which since have been successfully used with recent Muddy River floods.) So no point in building new tunnels to Manhattan if they’re going to get flooded again and again. (NOTE: the tunnel congestion is because much service formerly run to Hoboken and Newark is now routed to Penn Station. Make people use the ferries and PATH/H&M and the congestion will move elsewhere.)
Building a major city on an island seemed like a good idea in the 1600s, but those days are over.
That island is why the city is there. Otherwise it would be just another Poughkeepsie.
Could someone more familiar than I am explain if the money from “the recently passed infrastructure bill” has actually been disbursed, or must await passage of a new budget, since the recently passed “CR” only continues funding at existing levels. Also, I know there is a difference between “authorized” and “appropriated.” Does that apply here?
Perhaps Amtrak decided to start the $150 million repair project now and pay for it out its cash flow, while hoping the budget and appropriating process will increase their budget in February (when the current CR expires?). It does demonstrate the urgency from their perspective.
The North River Tunnel was built the same year as New York’s original Pennsylvania Station in 1910. Before the installation of the tunnel, passengers travelling by train to New York from the south transferred to ferries on the shore of New Jersey to cross the Hudson River to Manhatten Island.