The Gateway Development Commission (GDC) on Jan. 16 appointed railway industry veteran and Railway Age’s 2017 Railroader of the Year Thomas F. Prendergast as Chief Executive Officer.
Prendergast comes to GDC from AECOM, where as Executive Vice President and Americas Transit Team Leader, he oversaw design and consulting services across all business lines in New York and New Jersey, including transportation, water and wastewater, environment, power, and buildings. He brings significant experience managing large rail infrastructure to the role, including serving as President, Chairman and CEO of the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA); President of MTA Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) and MTA New York City Transit (NYCT); and CEO of the South Coast British Columbia Transportation Authority (TransLink).
At the MTA, Prendergast led the way to securing a five-year capital plan to modernize New York’s public transportation systems, oversaw restoration of service after Hurricane Sandy and critical rehabilitation and flood resiliency efforts, and oversaw completion and opening of Phase 1 of the NYCT Second Avenue Subway.
GDC noted it is “poised to take significant steps forward under Prendergast’s leadership.” In the coming months, the Commission expects to:
- Award the contract for the Manhattan Tunnel Project, which involves designing and building the portion of the new tunnel on the Manhattan side of the Hudson River.
- Complete production of the tunnel boring machines (TBMs) that will build the New Jersey portion of the tunnel. These TBMs have been ordered.
- Finish the Tonnelle Avenue Bridge and Utility Relocation Project. This will provide access to the portal to the Palisades that will enable tunnel boring machines to build the New Jersey portion of the new tunnel and will allow trains to pass under Tonnelle Avenue into the tunnel once it is in operation. Seven of the ten construction packages that make up the HTP are now under construction or in procurement. In total, construction of the HTP will create 95,000 jobs and generate nearly $20 billion in economic activity that benefits workers and businesses throughout the New York/New Jersey region and across the country. Work is well under way on three construction projects, including the first heavy construction project of the HTP. These projects are projected to create 7,500 jobs and generate $1.5 billion in economic output. In addition, initial construction in preparation for tunnel boring has launched and will advance significantly in 2025.
Recent HTP construction milestones include:
- The Tonnelle Avenue Bridge and Utility Relocation Project has passed 50% completion on time and on budget.
- Underpinning and jet grouting below the High Line being conducted as part of the Hudson Yards Concrete Casing Section 3 (HYCC-3) Project are complete, enabling excavation to install the tunnel box to begin.
- Acoustic corer scans for the Hudson River Ground Stabilization (HRGS) Project are complete and soil mixing is underway within the first section of the cofferdam. GDC has the resources needed to see the HTP through to completion. In July, the Commission secured full funding for the project, including $12 billion in commitments from the federal government, which will cover 70% of project costs. Between federal funding obligated to the project and executed Railroad Rehabilitation & Improvement Financing (RRIF) loans for the local share of the project costs, roughly $8 billion is available to advance construction and GDC has fully executed commitments for the entire $16 billion needed to build the HTP.
“The Gateway Program,” the GDC said, “is the most urgent major infrastructure program in the country—a comprehensive set of rail investments that will improve commuter and intercity services, add needed resiliency, and create new capacity for the busiest section of the Northeast Corridor (NEC), the most heavily used passenger rail line in the country, hosting more than 2,200 train movements and 800,000 passenger trips daily.
“A modern rail system that ensures fast, reliable service for commuters and travelers is the foundation for strong and sustained economic growth,” Prendergast said. “As someone who has spent much of my career working to improve rail mass transit for residents of New York and New Jersey, I understand the urgent need for the Hudson Tunnel Project, and I am committed to making sure it is built on time and on budget. I thank the GDC Commissioners, Governors Hochul and Murphy, Minority Leader Schumer and our Congressional champions for trusting me to carry this project forward. I look forward to working closely with all our partners in Washington, New Jersey and New York to deliver the most urgent infrastructure project in the nation.”
“Tom has a proven track record moving megaprojects forward and a deep experience with all the key stakeholders, agencies, and the construction challenges that are key to continuing the significant progress we’ve made on Gateway, with more to come,” said U.S. Senator Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), Senate Minority Leader. “Tom’s experience fits the qualifications needed for this job to a tee.”
“The Gateway Hudson Tunnel Project is our nation’s most vital infrastructure project, bound to transform the way we move throughout the region for generations to come,” said New York Gov. Kathy Hochul. “Tom Prendergast has the extensive experience that we need now to keep the project on track, lead the Gateway Development Commission and make this long held dream a reality.”
“Tom Prendergast brings the extraordinary qualifications and expertise necessary to see the nation’s most important infrastructure project through its next stage,” said New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy. “I am confident he will serve New Jersey and New York well as CEO of the Gateway Development Commission.”
In a joint statement, Alicia Glen, New York GDC Commissioner and Co-Chair, Balpreet GrewalVirk, New Jersey GDC Commissioner and Co-Chair, and Tony Coscia, GDC Amtrak Commissioner and Vice Chair, said, “Over the past year, we have moved from planning the HTP to building the nation’s most urgent rail infrastructure project. We are thrilled that Tom Prendergast will be at the helm of GDC’s operations as we continue to advance the construction projects that are already in progress and move forward with tunnel boring and trackway construction. The region, and the nation, need the Hudson Tunnel Project now more than ever, and Tom’s deep experience delivering complex infrastructure projects in New York and New Jersey, including his decades of work focused on rail mass transit in the region, position him perfectly to lead us through the next phases of this critical project.”
