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Gateway Hudson Tunnel funding resumes with $30M payment
By
Giulia Heyward
Published Feb 15, 2026
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Kena Betancur / AFP via Getty Images
By
Giulia Heyward
Published Feb 15, 2026
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Millions of dollars in federal funding were restored to a massive construction project along the Hudson River over the weekend, but hundreds of millions more remained in dispute after the Trump administration withheld the money late last year.
The federal government disbursed $30 million to the Gateway Hudson Tunnel project on Friday after a recent court order. New York and New Jersey officials said the payment is the first installment of $205 million withheld since October.
Gov. Kathy Hochul said the federal government must also provide a court-ordered report detailing the status of the remaining funds.
The Gateway Hudson Tunnel project, one of the largest infrastructure efforts in the country, will build a new set of rail tunnels beneath the Hudson River. The Trump administration paused previously allocated funding for the project in October, leading construction to be suspended last week when the money ran out.
U.S. District Judge Jeannette Vargas ruled that withholding the funds would harm the public interest and ordered the administration to resume payments while the case proceeds. The federal government had appealed the order, but that effort expired Thursday.
Two lawsuits have been filed, seeking the release of the remaining funds. The attorneys general of New York and New Jersey filed one suit and the Gateway Development Commission filed another.
“Because of our efforts, the Department of Transportation is finally delivering the Gateway project funds it has been unlawfully freezing for months,” New Jersey Acting Attorney General Jennifer Davenport said in a statement. “When we fight, we win.”
U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand criticized the administration’s handling of the funding and said more money is still needed.
“This is only one step forced by a court loss,” she said in a statement over the weekend. “I will continue pushing this administration to do its duty to make sure Gateway is completed without further disruption or layoffs.”
Hochul said the project supports about 1,000 union workers and serves roughly 200,000 commuters who rely on NJ Transit and Amtrak trains traveling through the existing Hudson River tunnels, which were damaged during Hurricane Sandy in 2012.
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new york state
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Giulia Heyward
Giulia Heyward is a breaking news reporter on the Day-Of desk. She previously worked at NPR, as a breaking news reporter, and the New York Times, as a reporting fellow on the national desk. Her work has also appeared in CNN, The Atlantic and Politico. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or more securely on signal at 917-715-1458.
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