How will the freight tunnel be built under the Hudson River, if it is funded?
The tunnel segment for the alternative would be constructed using both the Immersed Tube Tunnel (ITT) method and the Bored Tunnel method. The portion of the tunnel from the Greenville Yards shoreline in New Jersey to the end of the Northeast Auto Marine Terminal (NEAT) Pier, also in New Jersey, would be constructed using the ITT method. The ITT method consists of lowering pre-cast reinforced concrete and/or steel/concrete tunnel segments into a trench that has been excavated on the bottom of the harbor off the coast of New Jersey. Once the tunnel segments have been placed in the trench, connected and sealed, the trench is backfilled. The portion of the tunnel from the NEAT Pier to 10th Avenue in Brooklyn will be constructed with a tunnel-boring machine. A tunnel-boring machine is a large drill that excavates a circular tunnel section without disturbing the surface of the harbor. Tunnel-boring machines are custom designed for specific geologic conditions and to meet other project requir
