The Hudson River train tunnel construction is already messing with your West Side commute
The $16 billion project to build a new Hudson River train tunnel (also known as the most expensive mass transit effort in U.S. history) is officially underway on Manhattan's West Side. And while the goal is noble (replacing 115-year-old Amtrak tunnels and preventing Northeast Corridor collapse), the side effects are starting to get real for drivers, cyclists and pedestrians.
Here's what's happening: To prep for tunnel excavation under the Hudson River, crews have already chopped trees near 30th Street and plan to remove the median on the West Side Highway next. Once that medium is removed, it's reported that traffic will then shift east, all due to a very chill-sounding engineering feat called ground freezing, which stabilizes the riverbed so workers can safely dig beneath it. Crews will insert giant pipes that pump cold brine into the soil, essentially creating an underground popsicle to prevent soil collapse.
'We're going to work very hard to make sure that the traffic flows as unimpeded as possible,' Gateway Development Commission spokesperson Stephen Sigmund told Gothamist. Translation: Buckle up for delays.
Meanwhile, the Hudson River Greenway, New York's busiest bike path, is set to get its own detour near 30th, though officials haven't said when the changes will begin. So, if you're cycling to work, expect reroutes and slowdowns, and consider starting to leave 10 minutes earlier.
The disruptions are expected to last through early 2027, with the full tunnel not scheduled to open until 2035. The eventual plan is for trains to emerge from the new tunnel, located just east of the highway and link up with the Penn Station tracks under Hudson Yards. But until then? Think traffic cones, construction noise and detours galore.
To be fair, traffic pros like 'Gridlock' Sam Schwartz say that as long as highway lanes aren't reduced, the chaos should stay manageable. That's a big if, given the daily dance of trucks, cars, cyclists and cement mixers on the West Side.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
5 days ago
- The Independent
‘Revolutionary' direct LA to NYC train could launch in time for Fifa World Cup 2026 (and it's ‘Trump proof')
A new direct train service between Los Angeles and New York has been proposed — and it's claimed that it would 'revolutionize' rail travel for leisure passengers and truckers. Moreover, the scheme circumvents the need for taxpayer dollars and congressional legislation, which would be sticking points for President Trump. The Transcontinental Chief is the brainchild of private sector company AmeriStarRail, which aims to launch the coast-to-coast service in partnership with Amtrak on National Train Day, Sunday, May 10, 2026, in time to serve tourists for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. As well as taking passengers from match to match, AmeriStarRail says that the train would simply 'be a great way to see America during our nation's 250th birthday'. The intermodal train would also serve as a 'rolling rest stop for truckers' and 'provide a safe alternative to the nationwide parking shortage'. Currently, there are 11 truckers for every space needed, AmeriStarRail claims. It explains: 'At railports along the route, truckers will be able to drive their entire tractor-trailer trucks onto railroad flatcars and then rest and relax onboard Amtrak coach, sleeper, and dining cars as they travel 200—500 miles during their federally mandated 10-hour rest period.' The firm adds: 'Passengers will also be offered a transcontinental Auto Train service for cars, vans, motorcycles, RVs and charter motorcoaches serving New York, Chicago, the Grand Canyon and Los Angeles.' Currently, traveling by train from Los Angeles to New York involves at least one change, in Chicago, and takes between 68 and 70 hours. The diesel-powered Transcontinental Chief would travel via Chicago at speeds of up to 90 mph along the same existing tracks, as well as on freight lines, and take approximately the same length of time. AmeriStarRail says it will be 'faster, safer and more comfortable' than driving coast to coast. President Trump recently cut $4bn in federal funding for California's high-speed rail project, calling plans to connect San Francisco and Los Angeles a 'train to nowhere'. But AmeriStarRail is confident Trump will support its proposal not just because neither legislation nor taxpayer funding is needed, but because it 'will turn money-losing Ambrak trains into profit-making trains'. AmeriStarRail proposes that the Transcontinental Chief would replace two Amtrak trains: The Southwest Chief (LA-Chicago) and The Pennsylvanian (Pittsburgh-NY). The proposal would utilize the cars and locomotives from these services, along with refurbished passenger cars that Amtrak currently has in its shops and yards. In a letter to Amtrak President Roger Harris, AmeriStarRail Chief Operating Officer Scott Spencer said: 'The Transcontinental Chief will be a great opportunity for Amtrak to team up with the private sector to confront the challenges of its money-losing long-distance trains and create opportunities to usher in a profitable Golden Age of rail travel for passengers and truckers, with the ingenuity of free enterprise, as we celebrate our great nation's 250th birthday next year.' Spencer told The Independent: "We have spent over 20 years researching and developing the details necessary to operate Amtrak's long-distance trains profitably and reliably. "We selected the LA-NY route for The Transcontinental Chief because it can be operated profitably and reliably starting next year using existing railroad locomotives, cars and tracks. "AmeriStarRail's Mentor and Senior Advisor, the former President of Amtrak, Paul Reistrup, has had a key role in developing and evaluating the feasibility of operating this route. We have also conducted courtesy calls with the freight railroads, BNSF and Norfolk Southern, to review the operating feasibility and requirements along the coast-to-coast route." It comes as Amtrak prepares to launch 160 mph Acela trains along the Northeast Corridor, from Washington, D.C., to Boston via New York.
Time Out
18-07-2025
- Time Out
In shocking news, New Yorkers walk and bike way more than almost all Americans, says new study
Turns out 'I'm walkin' here!' isn't just a punchline, it's a lifestyle. According to a new report from analytics firm StreetLight, New Yorkers—at least in four out of five boroughs—are walking and biking at rates the rest of the country can only dream of. Manhattan leads the nation in 'active transportation,' with a whopping 59-percent of trips made on foot or by bike. Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx also rank in the top 10 U.S. counties for non-car travel. The odd borough out is Staten Island, where a staggering 87-percent of trips still happen by car, placing it closer to the national norm. Across most of the U.S., active transportation remains the exception: In more than two-thirds of the counties analyzed, fewer than 1 in 10 trips involve walking or biking. Density—and a transit system that, for all its faults, actually works—is what sets New York apart. 'New York is a city in the United States that's done the most to support safe walking and cycling,' Michael Replogle, former NYC DOT deputy commissioner, told Gothamist. Add in policies like congestion pricing and reliable mass transit, and it's no wonder New Yorkers are pounding the pavement in record numbers. The study excluded low-density areas and focused on trips over 300 meters, offering a more apples-to-apples comparison among urban centers. And it wasn't just NYC making the leaderboard: Hudson County, New Jersey (home to Jersey City and Hoboken), ranked fifth, just ahead of Boston and Philly. With its tight street grid, PATH access and sky-high density, Hudson is a walker's paradise, too. Meanwhile, sprawling cities like Los Angeles and Chicago didn't even crack the top ranks. The takeaway? If you build a city for cars, people will drive. If you build it for humans, they'll walk. Walking and biking are part of a broader push toward rethinking urban mobility. Experts say high density, good transit and safe infrastructure are what make foot-powered travel possible and popular. In the end, New Yorkers walk more—duh. But it's not because we're better people (OK, maybe a little), but because the city actually makes it doable. And that, says StreetLight, might just be the future of urban life.
The Sun
13-07-2025
- The Sun
My miserable 12½ hour US train journey at Club World Cup with £6 purple sludge ‘porridge' made me dream of British rail
STEP AWAY from the Amtrak oatmeal. American long distance trains are bad enough but the food they serve is even worse. 8 8 8 The 'porridge' they serve makes the infamous British Rail pork pie of the 1970s look like the top of the menu fare from a Michelin Star restaurant. And it's not cheap either. Around £6 per pot of purple sludge that when mixed with a jet of boiling hot water forms an indigo mess that is as arduous on the stomach as the painfully slow services that run between some cities. You may discover this next year when the USA hosts the real World Cup - a coming together of 48 nations competing for the biggest prize in international football. Fans and players will be criss-crossing this vast country in many ways. For Chelsea during the Club World Cup this summer it has been first class travel for a whole month - flights and five star hotels. Cole Palmer will hopefully be following similar pathways next summer with England. football tournament is wearing. 8 America has hosted a World Cup before. In 1994, when then Ireland boss Jack Charlton warned that someone could die from the heat. Temperatures touching 40 degrees here over the past weeks, Chelsea vice-captain Enzo Fernandez admitting he felt dizzy during a game and had to lie down. Juventus players asking to come off to escape the heat. The world is warmer now than it was back in the 1990s and will be even warmer next year. Palmer has talked of the two hour flights everywhere draining his legs and his soul. Chelsea's poster boy player turned up at the Club World Cup wearing a PPE mask over his face because he says he 'doesn't like the smell of planes'. 8 8 8 Unfortunately, he will have to go through it all again because Americans love flying and driving. Back in 1987 there was a hit movie - Planes, Trains and Automobiles - a comic tale of two stranded men trying to make it home for Christmas by any means when snow puts paid to their hopes of taking a jet home. It's planes and cars for the people over here. The trains are a joke. At least the one that took 12½ hours to carry me just 550 miles from Charlotte to Philadelphia to catch up with the Chelsea charabanc as they moved from city to city playing games. You can just about take a similar journey by rail in the UK but you might fall off the end of our little country into the sea at the end. But it wouldn't take more than half a day to do it either. It would take around half that time. Amtrak's number 80 service from North Carolina to Pennsylvania is an experience. Good or bad is debatable. They know that the 6.45am departure time means passengers are going to get hungry pretty quickly, and they have a captive market for the stuff they pass off as food as you chug along at no more than 40mph with a stinky old diesel engine dragging the carriages behind it like some sad old pack donkey. And once you reach Washington, brace yourself for a half hour wait while the diesel loco is uncoupled and the electric one hooked up - only then can you speed along at a decent pace. 8 Chelsea began their Club World Cup campaign in Atlanta and were so convinced they would win their group that they earmarked Miami as their next training base. It didn't quite work out that way and they ended as runners up. But still they chose sunny Florida and glamorous South Beach as a temporary HQ. This meant flying to their last 16 game in Charlotte and then back up north to Philly for their quarter final win over Palmeiras. From there's been onwards to New York, The Big Apple, and while it's luxury all the way for the players, they are still getting fed up with being cooped up in hotel rooms and strange beds. Downtime for them has been ping pong, basketball, dinners together and walks. Only last week French defender Malo Gusto walked right past me in Greenwich Village, engaged with a couple of pals and having his photo taken the whole time. The thing with America is that it doesn't need to sell itself. It's the richest and most entertaining country in the world. And it knows it. Unsurprisingly, being run by someone like Donald Trump means the US is wrapped up in itself. It's not been difficult finding a local who has no clue that the Club World Cup is actually happening within their borders. There won't be so much ignorance next year at the real World Cup but don't bet against it.
