{"id":34244,"date":"2026-02-10T12:54:14","date_gmt":"2026-02-10T20:54:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/judge-unfreezes-gateway-funding-but-appeal-delays-release\/"},"modified":"2026-02-10T12:54:14","modified_gmt":"2026-02-10T20:54:14","slug":"judge-unfreezes-gateway-funding-but-appeal-delays-release","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/judge-unfreezes-gateway-funding-but-appeal-delays-release\/","title":{"rendered":"Judge unfreezes Gateway funding, but appeal delays release"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> [ad_1]<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"text-to-speech\">\n    <button class=\"text-to-speech__button button\"><br \/>\n        <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"text-to-speech__button__icon\" src=\"https:\/\/www.constructiondive.com\/static\/img\/play.svg?500116090725\" alt=\"-\"><br \/>\n        Listen to the article<br \/>\n        <span class=\"text-to-speech__button__audio-length\">4 min<\/span><br \/>\n    <\/button><\/p>\n<div class=\"text-to-speech__controls\">\n        <audio controls=\"\" class=\"js-text-to-speech\" preload=\"none\"><source src=\"https:\/\/text-to-speech.divecdn.com\/newspost\/811852\/2026-02-10_13.58.51\/judge-unfreezes-gateway-funding-appeal-delays-release.wav\" type=\"audio\/mp3\"><\/source><\/audio><\/p>\n<div class=\"text-to-speech__controls__text\">\n            This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.constructiondive.com\/contact\/\" target=\"_blank\">feedback<\/a>.\n        <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>Contractors on the ground will have to wait at least until Thursday to see if the funding tap gets turned back on for the embattled $16 billion Hudson Tunnel Project.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>A federal judge in New York on Feb. 6 ordered the U.S. Department of Transportation to <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.njoag.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/2026-0206_26cv00939-TRO-Opinion-FINAL.pdf\" target=\"_blank\"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>resume federal funding<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><span><span><span><span><span><span> for the infrastructure job, currently the largest in the country. However, President Donald Trump&#8217;s administration <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/trump-administration-appeals-ruling-it-must-unfreeze-new-york-city-tunnel-2026-02-09\/\" target=\"_blank\"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>filed an appeal<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><span><span><span><span><span><span> challenging the decision on Feb. 8. A judge on Monday gave the government until <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thecentersquare.com\/new_york\/article_4aba496a-d579-4b8f-95ce-34edfc01a6e4.html\" target=\"_blank\"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>Thursday to resume funding<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><span><span><span><span><span><span> as the appeal works its way through the courts, according to the Center Square.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>In the meantime, nearly 1,000 workers have been laid off, according to the Gateway Development Commission, which is overseeing the project. But other workers must stay on the job, the GDC said in a lawsuit filed to regain funding, since unfinished work sites currently have massive holes in the ground that cannot be left as they are.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>To cover those holes, the GDC said it would have to spend another $15 million to $20 million a month in patch work. Those suspension costs would also be used to demobilize work crews, manage, secure and make safe various construction sites, in addition to removing and storing heavy equipment.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>Funding threats began last fall, when the Trump administration questioned the legality of the Department of Transportation\u2019s <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.constructiondive.com\/news\/construction-inclusion-week-dbe-program\/802475\/\" target=\"_blank\"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>Disadvantaged Business Enterprise program<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><span><span><span><span><span><span>. As a federally funded build, Gateway had complied with federal DBE requirements for workforce participation goals for women, minorities and veterans. At the time, general contractor Tutor Perini said <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.constructiondive.com\/news\/gateway-construction-trump-claim-termination\/803364\/\" target=\"_blank\"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>progress was continuing on schedule<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><span><span><span><span><span><span>.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>For four months, construction continued after the administration targeted the project\u2019s funding, due to the GDC drawing on reserves and a line of credit. But by late January, those resources had dwindled and were no longer feasible to continue funding the project, according to the GDC.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"standard-heading\">Green light, red light on funding<\/h3>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>Without the federal funds, the Gateway Development Commission <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.constructiondive.com\/news\/hudson-tunnel-work-stoppage-funding-halt\/810667\/\" target=\"_blank\"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>stopped all construction progress<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><span><span><span><span><span><span> on Feb. 6. The GDC has also put four other <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gatewayprogram.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Construction-Pause-Press-Release-Feb-6-2026.pdf\" target=\"_blank\"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>major procurements on hold<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><span><span><span><span><span><span>.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>The GDC filed a <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gatewayprogram.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/20260202-GDC-COFC-Complaint.pdf\" target=\"_blank\"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>lawsuit against the Trump administration<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><span><span><span><span><span><span> on Feb. 2 for breach of contract. The states of New York and New Jersey also filed a <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.njoag.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/2026-0203-NJ-v-DOT-Compl.pdf\" target=\"_blank\"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>separate lawsuit against the administration<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><span><span><span><span><span><span> the same week.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>Now, the commission and its workers are waiting to know if they\u2019ll be able to return to work. After the Feb. 6 order directed the government to resume funding, GDC told Construction Dive, \u201cWe are hopeful this means funding disbursements will resume soon, and we can start site operations and get our workers back on the job.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>Federal grants account for roughly $12 billion of the project\u2019s budget, or around 70%. Los Angeles-based Tutor Perini declined to comment for this article. GDC laid blame for the stoppage squarely on the federal government.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>\u201cOn September 30, 2025, DOT threw the future of this massive public works project into serious doubt by suspending the release of funds it was contractually obligated to pay to GDC under a set of binding grant and loan agreements,\u201d the GDC wrote in its lawsuit. \u201cSince that date, DOT has withheld a total of $205,275,358 in payments owed to GDC under the HTP Grant and Loan Agreements.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>Project stakeholders had expected 2026 to be full of milestones for the Hudson Tunnel Project, said Balpreet Grewal-Virk, New Jersey commissioner and co-chair at the Gateway Development Commission. Plans included the awards of two major construction contracts and the creation of tens of thousands of jobs. Contractors had also been expecting to start tunnel boring in New Jersey later this year, she added.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>\u201cIn the days and weeks ahead, GDC is going to continue doing everything we can to get funding restored so the many hardworking men and women employed by the Hudson Tunnel Project can get back to work, and we can go back to celebrating milestones on the way to delivering this urgently needed new tunnel,\u201d Grewal-Virk said.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>[ad_2]<br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.constructiondive.com\/news\/judge-unfreezes-gateway-funding-appeal-delays-release\/811852\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">This article was originally posted at Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[ad_1] Listen to the article 4 min This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have feedback. Contractors &#8230; <a title=\"Judge unfreezes Gateway funding, but appeal delays release\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/judge-unfreezes-gateway-funding-but-appeal-delays-release\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about Judge unfreezes Gateway funding, but appeal delays release\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[457],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-34244","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-construction-dive","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-33"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34244","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34244"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34244\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34244"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34244"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34244"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}