Gateway Tunnel work to resume after Trump administration delivers funding

WASHINGTON — Work on the Gateway Tunnel is expected to resume next week after the Trump administration released previously frozen funds to the massive infrastructure project.

The Gateway Development Commission — the New York and New Jersey board overseeing the $16 billion project — announced Wednesday morning that it had received more than $200 million owed to the project by the federal government that had been withheld since October, when President Donald Trump declared the regional rail project "terminated."

"Workers will be back on the job very soon," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said in a statement. "Gateway is back on track."

Work on the new Hudson River tunnel was suspended two weeks ago when the commission said it had no more funds to keep the project afloat due to the freeze. But a federal judge last week ordered the administration to free up the congressionally appropriated funds in response to a lawsuit filed by New York State Attorney General Letitia James and acting New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport.

The Trump administration has appealed the judge's ruling, and is expected to present arguments next week to the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan to preserve the freeze on the overall $15 billion in federal funds that Congress approved in 2021 for the project. But last week's lower court order found that the administration had an obligation to release the portion of funds withheld since the fall.

With funds in hand, the Gateway commission said in a statement Wednesday that it is "working with our contractors to deploy these funds to resume work as soon as possible. Letters will be sent to contractors today, and construction activities are expected to resume next week."

Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a statement that while the release of the funds is "significant," the state needs "certainty that Gateway funding will remain in place for the duration of the project. The federal government has a legal obligation to fully fund Gateway, and New York will accept nothing less.”

By Laura Figueroa Hernandez

laura.figueroa@newsday.com@Laura_Figueroa

Laura Figueroa Hernandez is the White House correspondent and previously covered New York City politics and government. She joined Newsday in 2012 after covering state and local politics for The Miami Herald.