The Gateway Development Commission (GDC) Board of Commissioners on Sept. 30 authorized expanding the use of the delivery partner model for construction of the Gateway Program Hudson Tunnel Project, which is building nine miles of passenger rail track between New York and New Jersey, including a new, two-tube tunnel under the Hudson River, and will rehabilitate the existing North River Tunnel. GDC in March 2024 awarded the delivery partner contract to MPA—a joint venture of Mace North America Limited, Parsons Corporation, and Arcadis of New York Inc.—with the initial term ending in 2030 and the option for three subsequent three-year renewals. Since then, GDC has executed a series of task orders for its initial work with MPA. The new Board action delegates authority to GDC to execute a package of task orders that will enable MPA to provide all services and staffing needed to support project delivery through the end of the initial contract term, according to GDC.
“The resolution allocates up to $665 million over the next five years for this new scope of work,” GDC reported Sept. 30. “This funding will support the existing and growing team of employees and subcontractors MPA has hired to work on the Hudson Tunnel Project, which is estimated at 350 to 400 full-time equivalents.”
GDC has oversight of the approximately $16 billion Hudson Tunnel Project, which is slated to “provide long-term reliability, resiliency, and redundancy to the regional and national rail network for the NJ Transit and Amtrak customers who rely on these rail services”; MPA Delivery Partners (MPA) acts as its “arms and legs.” This arrangement has allowed GDC to accelerate construction across five active sites, and since onboarding MPA in March 2024, GDC said it has:
- “Secured full funding for the Hudson Tunnel Project.
- “Awarded contracts for three construction packages, including the first construction project that involves tunnel boring.
- “Advanced the first Hudson Tunnel Project construction package—the Tonnelle Avenue Bridge and Utility Relocation Project—toward on time completion in the coming weeks.
- “Procured and overseen manufacturing of the two tunnel boring machines that will be used to build the section of the new tunnel in New Jersey.
- “Managed the procurement process for four additional construction packages, including two that will be awarded in the next six months.”
Through the Board’s Sept. 30 action, GDC said it will be able to “retain the team that achieved these milestones and build on this success by adding engineers, project managers, planners, safety experts, and other key personnel, bringing MPA’s support to 350 to 400 full-time equivalents over the next five years.”
“Massive infrastructure projects like the Hudson Tunnel Project require huge teams of highly specialized experts,” GDC CEO Tom Prendergast said. “The delivery partner model enables GDC to bring in the right experts and resources for each aspect of this huge, multifaceted project while remaining a lean, efficient organization. As the past 18 months have shown, the model is working well. The MPA team has integrated seamlessly into our day-to-day operations, and the results speak for themselves. The GDC team looks forward to building on this successful partnership in the months and years to come.”
“This is a once-in-a-generation project and a true collaboration between the public and private sectors that will serve as a model for delivering future mega-infrastructure projects around the world,” said Joe Marie, Senior Vice President for MPA. “We are united in our goal of successfully completing this critical project, which will transform the Northeast Corridor and deliver billions of dollars of economic growth to the U.S. economy. GDC and MPA function as a fully integrated partnership, working closely together to ensure the Hudson Tunnel Project is completed on time and within budget.”
According to GDC, the delivery partner model has “a proven track record of enabling public agencies to deliver large, complex infrastructure projects.” It noted that the U.K.’s Olympic Delivery Authority used a delivery partner to build the infrastructure for the 2012 Olympics in London “ahead of schedule and under budget,” and in the United States, the Oregon Department of Transportation’s “award-winning” OTIA III State Bridge Delivery Program used a delivery partner model to replace or repair 271 bridges.
Further Reading:
- Gateway: HTP Makes Concrete Progress
- GDC Awards Manhattan Tunnel Project Contract
- GDC Issues RFQ for New Jersey Surface Alignment Project
- For Hudson Tunnel Project, $2.7B in Federal Grants Now Available for Construction
- Hudson Tunnel Project Primed for FFGA
- GDC Submits FTA Documentation for Hudson Tunnel Project Funding
GDC CEO Tom Prendergast will serve as keynote speaker at Railway Age’s Next-Gen Rail Systems 2025 (formerly Next-Gen Train Control/NGTC), to be held Oct. 30-31 at the Hyatt Regency Jersey City in Jersey City, N.J.
