Governor kills Hudson River Tunnel

Talk about a governor with tunnel vision.

budump (rim shot)

The first thing I thought of was that Boston "big dig" project.

The overruns are all but guaranteed.

:coffee:

Sometimes costs over runs are from poor management and sometimes from hidden technical difficulties in a project.

It is ironic the number of gigantic cost overruns on these projects dwarfs the number of projects that come in at or under budget. I think the problem is one of honesty. IMHO the budgets are purposefully made lower than the known expected true cost so that the project gets approved.

I applaud the New Jersey Governor for killing the project during a time when cash strapped governments should be spending less not more money.

I think that another reason, besides corruption, that mega projects run over is that they are estimated with the concept of emerging technology. Planning with the use of planned inventions is inherently difficult. Look to the Space Program...

There wouldn't be very much property taking, as such. On the NJ side, there is a fairly wide ROW, created for the original tunnels under the Hudson River. Once the new trackage leaves that ROW, tunnel boring starts, so the rest of the NJ takings will be underground easements. On the NYC side, nearly all the takings will probably be easements, as nothing is above ground except entrances, exits and ventilation and power system outlets. The new line has been referred to as the "Mass Transit Tunnel", the "ARC (Access to the regions Core) Tunnel," as well as the "THE (Trans Hudson Express)".

A bit of history........

The existing line from Philadelphia through NYC to Boston runs through two tubes called the North River Tunnels (the Hudson River was originally called the North River) that were built between 1903 and 1906. Prior to that time, rail passengers had to leave the trains in Jersey City or Hoboken. (A great book about the effort to build these tunnel, and Penn Station, is "Conquering Gotham: A Gilded Age Epic: The Construction of Penn Station and its Tunnels", by Jill Jones.) The tunnels, built by the Pennsylvania RR, continued on through Manhattan and into Queens, where a yard and turnaround tracks were built, so trains could be reversed and sent back into NJ. (They also connected to the Long Island RR, which was originally built to be a short cut from NYC to Boston in the Civil war era., using a ferry at the eastern end of the Island.)

The Hudson River tunnels have reached capacity (at least during rush hours), as they carry both Amtrak regular service, Amtrak Acela service and NJ Transit commuter trains. Keep in mind, originally these tunnels were intended for long range inter-urban passenger trains, which ran on a fairly well interspersed schedule, not commuter-style usage. NJ Transit was formed by taking over several defunct or failing rail lines (Pennsylvania, Erie-Lackawanna, Jersey Central, and Lehigh Valley) serving various portions of the state.

New Jersey Transit trains come from all over the state, and most now converge at a terminal in Hoboken, where commuters can catch ferries over to Manhattan (shades of 1903!), or PATH trains. Many of the lines pass through Secaucus Junction, where they cross the Northeast Corridor line, shared by Amtrak and NJ Transit. In 2004, NJ Transit opened a large new station at that crossover, which at the time was expected to handle more passengers that Penn Station in New York City.

Along with the station, there was supposed to be two or three large office buildings and a hotel (which were never built) and an exit and parking facility from the NJ Turnpike (which was built). The station was designed to take passengers off the lines which run into Hoboken and allow them to transfer to trains that would take them directly into Penn Station, in the middle of Manhattan. With the additional traffic in mind, there was and additional track built (called the "pocket track") as the two track NE Corridor enters the Secaucus station. While this third track currently dead ends in the station, it was intended to be extended nearly 2 miles to the vicinity of the portal of the North River Tunnels. (It is interesting to note that at the time of this project's completion, 2004, the cost for the new Hudson River tunnel was being quoted as between $4 and $5 billion.)

The portal of the North River tunnels is about 1.3 miles from the Hudson River. Because of the topography of the area, the tunnels must run under the southern end of the NJ Palisades (North Bergen and Weehawken, NJ) before running under the Hudson River. The new rail line would turn out from the existing NE Corridor tracks just before this portal, and a new pair of tunnels would be built under the River. The new tunnel would have to be built some distance away from the old tunnels, as they were partially built in mud and silt, and not rock, therefore vibration from the new drilling had to be avoided. (Some studies have indicated the the old tunnels are in fact, moving slightly, due to increased daily traffic.)

Due to environmental and engineering factors, the new tunnel would not enter existing Penn Station, but a new station would be bored out of solid rock, basically underneath the Macy's Department Store on 34th Street and Seventh Avenue. The total length of boring for the project would be about 8.8 miles, and it's deepest portion would be about 200 feet below sea level. The new station, built 150 feet underground, would connect to the Eighth Avenue, Seventh Avenue, Sixth Avenue and Broadway subway lines, four of the City's five major north south subway routes.

The project was initiated in 1995 during the Governor Whitman administration. She and six subsequent New Jersey Governors, both Republican and Democrat (including, initially Christie), had endorsed the project. Funding was coming from NJ Transit, the Port Authority and the Federal Transit Administration (approximately $3 billion each).

The new tunnel and station would have more than doubled the number of trains from New Jersey to Midtown Manhattan, providing direct, one-seat service from all but one of New Jersey Transit's eleven rail lines, as well as more frequent service to in-state destinations. In addition, the line was planned to be extended (in the future, as funding permits) through Manhattan and possibly into Queens to supplement NYC mass transit needs as well.

The first construction contract was awarded for a new bridge so the tracks could pass under Tonnelle Avenue in North Bergen, NJ in June 2009, and the project's groundbreaking was held on June 8, 2009. The Palisades Tunnels construction contract, the first portion of the tunneling was awarded on May 5, 2010, and preliminary work had already begun.

Railway Age has a good article on the project, written before the plug was pulled:

http://www.railwayage.com/in-this-issue/reconquering-gotham-april-2010.html

NT Times report on closure at tunnel breakthrough in 1905:

http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=F60E11F8345A12738DDDA00894D1405B868CF1D3

Another article on the new and old tunnels:

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2009/05/burrowing_a_tunnel_under_the_h.html

Who are you and what have you done with Philip?

🙂

Thanks Angelo. Very informative. These sort of projects are always pretty politically loaded on both sides but it seems that the project itself would have benefited a lot of commuters and reduced congestion. Expensive? Well of course 8.8 miles under ground is going to be VERY expensive.

In Oklahoma it seems we can get funding for new roads but not for fixing the ailing infrastructure in place already. Something is wrong with the funding process in my opinion.

Seems to be the norm all across the country. Build new but let the old just fail.

Well, I do not applaud the governor at all.
Transportation infrastructure projects are really a necessity particularly in the NY metro area.
Having been raised in the area, this is a no- brainier.
Maybe one thing that can be done is re-structure the contracts to add money incentive bonuses for 'early completion'. This has been done here on various interstate enhancements etc. and has been successful.
The cost of the incentive bonus will deflect the costs of budget over runs.

The problem that I see by a political entity such as the governor shutting down the project is that when it is time to get the project 'rolling' again and sure enough it will be. The re-start cost is enormous because you are starting from square one again.
I have seen this with various Fed and government projects such as NASA, USCOE and even NGS

Muddy.

I like the idea of the incentive based funding. The Boulder Dam (or should I say the Hoover Dam) was completed two years early and paid out a lot to those involved but probably saved a ton in contrast with projects that have cost over runs. Of course that project also cost 119 men their lives.

I think something similar was done when the barge wrecked the I-40 crossing in Eastern Okie. That was fixed and fast compared to normal bids/contracts.

It seems the Hudson project is needed and it will probably happen at some point and cost much more. Where are they going to move all those people without these sorts of projects?

Rankin

I am Philip's evil twin, but both of us have always been fairly conservative on economic matters. The real issue is that the national Debit is around 18 trillion dollars when you add in all those State bonds and unfunded pensions at all levels of government.

Sure, projects like this one are nice and a lot of people will make big money on it, but the process isn't any different than the mortgage loan scam and the end result will be that the tax payers will be screwed.

I am impressed by urban planning going on for this project. It is testament of our greatness as a society.

> I like the idea of the incentive based funding.

I think you're on to something.....

Some additional insight (if anyone can stand it already).

The current method of transit tunneling (at least in the NYC area) seems to be using these custom made tunnel boring machines, which involve no blasting, and very few personnel doing actual digging. But the City is at least working on infrastructure, planning for the future. These projects, while expensive, will never be cheaper than they are right now.

NYC, in the past four decades, built an entire water tunnel system, covering 60 miles in all five boroughs, drilled at depths of between 250 and 800 feet below the surface. The effort took years ( planned in the 1950's and 1960's, construction started in 1970) and an estimated $6 billion.

Actual completion is expected in 2020, but at that point, the entire city can be fed from this tunnel, enabling inspection and repairs on the two older tunnels, which are 93 and 74 years old, respectively. The benefit of spending this money now is that the City will not have to go into any kind of emergency mode should anything happen to the original tunnels, which have not been inspected since being put into service.

Meanwhile, the City is building three major mass transit lines: the Second Avenue Subway (SAS), the Number 7 Line Extension, and the East Side Access Line (ESA).

The SAS, an original piece of the subway system that was never built due to the Great Depression in 1929, was actually started in the 1970's, and three small sections in upper Manhattan and Lower Manhattan were actually completed and then walled off. In 2007, construction was started, and it is expected that the upper section (between 100th Street and 63rd Street) will be completed in 2017 at a cost of $17 billion. The lower section, from 63rd Street to Hanover Square near Wall Street, is on hold until funds become available.

The No. 7 line is being built to extend to the West Side Rail Yards (ironically, right over the original North River Tunnels, and one of the reasons they can't connect directly to Penn Station). This was going to be the site of the proposed Olympic (and then NY Jets) Stadium which was abandoned after the Olympics were awarded to London, and the State legislature refused additional funding to continue. Now called the Hudson Yards Redevelopment Project, the area was rezoned for commercial and residential space, and is considered a plum for real estate developers.One thing that will increase the value of the site (which is as far west as one can get and still be in Manhattan) is mass transit access.The Related Companies and the Oxford Properties Group, each headed by what can be described as friends and cronies of Mayor Bloomberg, have been selected to develop the site. It will include up to 16 buildings, 8 residential and 8 mixed use (One will possibly be taller than the Empire State Building, if press releases are to be believed). As one might expect, this project is moving along the fastest, and with the least hassles. It is not funded by NYC Transit, even though it is an extension of their system, but rather by New York City itself, through a new public authority, the Hudson Yards Development Corporation. This is a reflection of the mayor's intent on getting this done.

Finally, the ESA, which will bring Long Island commuters into Grand Central Station as an alternative to Penn Station, is the slowest moving and most trouble plagued of the trio. The $7 billion project involves using the lower level of a tunnel structure already in use under the East River, and then boring across 63rd Street and down Park Avenue into a chamber to be carved out under Grand Central, over 200 feet deep. This project was originally slated to cost between $3 and $4 billion. The problem is that, unless the SAS is completed further downtown, the ESA will be dumping thousands of Long Island commuters onto the Lexington Avenue subway line, which is already overcrowded and at capacity. Perhaps the intent is to bring pressure to fund the rest of the line.

In any event, despite Governor Christie's actions yesterday, there will be no lack of drilling (or spending) in NYC in the coming decade. Unlike NJ, however, at the end, NYC will have better transit alternatives, and less traffic headaches, as commuters will have better options to get in and out of town.

I think the Governor whimped out on a tough call to invest in the infrastructure/commerce of New Jersey.

Rankin

Paul Krugman has a column on this this morning.

From an Article in today's paper the allocated funds were:
New Jersey 2.7 Billion
New York 3 Billion
Fed's 3 Billion

Latest Projected Cost 11 to 13 Billion

It seems that Gov Cristie is one of those silly politicians
that believe that if you Don't have the money to finish a
project you shouldn't start construction

ALSO canceled yesterday (BY the sponsor the DRPA) was a Light Rail line
from Camden NJ to Glasboro NJ also because of cost creep.

Light rail is a waste of money. That's what we have here. All the disadvantages of bus with all the disadvantages of rail and none of the advantages of either. Trains should go longer distances faster. Buses are better at being flexible and making a lot of stops.

Rankin

If you are doing long term planning, these projects will NEVER be cheaper than they are now.

Thanks Angelo.

Urban planning is really tough in Lawton but I'm sure that it's 1000's times tougher in really heavy urbanized areas.

I can't imagine being a traffic engineer or a planner in NYC. Very challenging I would think is a huge understatement.