Many of Columbia’s Construction Administration students were still in high school when New York felt the wrath of Superstorm Sandy.
Still reeling from the effects of that storm, the region’s infrastructure continues to operate today, 12 years later, despite what seems like an ever-increasing pace of aging and the need to replace some of the century-old components of the critical transportation network.
A team of Construction Capstone students recently checked in on the progress that is being made to design and build the first new rail tunnel under the Hudson River since Teddy Roosevelt was president.
Situated in the midst of Hudson Yards and the Highline, on the western edge of Chelsea, this entrance to the new tunnel under the Hudson River is a critical commuter node connecting Penn Station to New Jersey and beyond.
The North River Tunnel, comprising two electrified rail tunnel tubes, connects New York City’s midtown to the mainland of the continental United States. This tunnel is a critical link in the busiest rail transportation corridor in the United States, the Northeast Corridor, connecting Boston to Washington. If you’ve ever taken Amtrak or New Jersey Transit from Penn Station on your way to a Columbia football or women’s basketball game at Princeton, you’ve traveled through the North River Tunnel. If you’ve returned from a visit to D.C. via Amtrak, you’ve ridden through the North River tubes.
Columbia students Fabian Ayala (far left), Sheriff Naggar (third from right), Luis Arturo Miranda Nunez (second from right), and Noah Burwell (far right) on their site visit on July 18, 2024
Fabian Ayala, Senior Engineer in Facilities and Operations, a Columbia University employee and student in the M.S. in Construction Administration program, found that “the site visit demonstrated, up close and personal, the level of effort required to coordinate and manage the numerous project stakeholders, working to keep their myriad interests aligned, all while keeping the trains running.
“Can you imagine what it takes to communicate with and address the needs of NYC Dept. of Transportation, NYC Parks, Amtrak, the MTA and Long Island Railroad, as well as the hundreds of thousands of daily commuters?”
Superstorm Sandy decimated many of the under-river transportation routes in October 2012. To this day, transportation agencies have been working to keep the trains and subways running. Following funding that was made initially available to New Jersey Transit during the Trump administration, and further supported by major funding made available after passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (November 2021), work has been underway to finally increase capacity of train traffic under the Hudson River. This mega-project is often cited as being of regional significance, something that seemed to matter a great deal when the U.S. Department of Transportation was considering funding requests and allocation, amid claims that the tunnel conveys between 15–20% of the U.S. economy’s GDP.
That is an awful lot of economic and engineering pressure to burden a tunnel that’s over a century old. The current tunnel features two tubes that handle trains going into and out of Manhattan and can be a major bottleneck and source of delays. Malfunctions in the operations of opening and closing the tunnel to let maritime traffic cross can cause further delays. The tunnel’s tubes were partially flooded during Superstorm Sandy, causing structural integrity issues as well as corrosion of electrical connections, rails, and switches, any of which could lead to catastrophic failure of the tunnel.
Situated in the midst of Hudson Yards and the Highline, the entrance to the new tunnel under the Hudson River is a critical commuter node connecting Penn Station to New Jersey and beyond
The Capstone curriculum challenges students to apply their knowledge of managing and administering complex construction projects, even as the asset must remain operational. The Construction Administration students must find ways to keep the trains running, ensuring people get to work and return home, and maintain the pace of the GDP, all without interrupting service or shutting down the system.
This project epitomizes the real-world, practical experiences the faculty shares with students in the M.S. in Construction Administration program. Scholar-practitioner faculty, alongside student-practitioners, are actively involved in the Hudson Tunnel Project. Both faculty and students contribute to and learn from this mega-project, exploring and conducting field research on maintaining project schedules, managing budgets, and realistically grasping the scope of work—all against a dynamic and increasingly complex socio-economic and political backdrop.
Mega-projects like the Gateway Program offer students a vivid and vibrant setting in which they can bear witness to innovation and discipline in action. Projects like the Hudson River Tunnel present students with invaluable experience, seeing firsthand the rebuilding of America, in their lifetimes, beyond the classroom, through their Columbia experience.
"Being part of the Hudson Tunnel Project is more than just participating in and contributing to an engineering marvel,” shared Sheriff Naggar, M.S. in Construction Administration student, and President of the Design+Build Institute’s Student Chapter. “This experience is about building a legacy that will connect communities, fuel economic growth, and inspire future generations to dream bigger and dig deeper."
About the Program
Columbia’s Master of Science in Construction Administration program prepares graduates for a variety of careers at the forefront of construction and project leadership. Graduates develop rewarding careers with some of the world’s most respected architecture, engineering, and construction firms, entrusted with delivering some of the most impactful projects of our time.
About the Gateway Program
The total lifetime project cost for the Gateway Program is approximately $30 billion, with significant funding from federal, state, and other sources. The program is advancing each individual project element through various stages of delivery, including planning, environmental analysis, engineering design, funding, construction, testing, and commissioning. This comprehensive approach ensures the renewal and expansion of this critical section of the Northeast Corridor, doubling trans-Hudson rail capacity and increasing daily trips from roughly 200,000 to 400,000.
