Funds OK’d, Workers Finally Returning to Gateway Project
While the Trump administration resumed funding after court setbacks, the federal government said it will try to appeal the rulings. But for the moment, the funds have been unleashed and workers were expecting to be back on the job as of Feb. 23.
| 20 Feb 2026 | 04:40
With union chief Gary LaBarbara looking on, Governor Kathy Hochul on Feb. 17 spoke of her families strong union ties at a rally with more than 150 Gateway workers held at the NYC Gateway Tunnel job site entrance near the Hudson River.
While this may look mysterious, this is the western end approach of the NJ tunnel entrance for Gateway. Across the top is Tonnele Avenue, a major Hudson County thoroughfare. While some Gateway Project work is visible from Manhattan streets in the west 30s, there is much work going on in New Jersey at present. (
)
Some of the 1,000 Gateway Project workers gathered for a rally near 12th Avenue to listen to Governor Hochul and Building Trades President Gary LaBarbara on February 17. (
)
On February 17, the grey morning contributed to the gloom surrounding the Gateway Project funding. Next week, workers will be able to do their jobs, once again. (
)
The stalled Gateway Project is expected to resume construction next week with 1,000 construction workers finally able to go back to work after a forced hiatus. Funding had stopped Feb. 6, forcing the project to come to a screeching halt. New York Governor Kathy Hochul, who led chants of “let them build!” at a rally at Hudson Yards on Feb. 17 had said work could not restart until all the overdue funds were released.
That day finally happened.
“This funding freeze was unlawful from the start. We took swift action in court, and now every dollar that was illegally withheld has been released,” New York State Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement.
The overdue money includes $205 million the federal government was in arrears to Gateway, plus $30 million associated with construction costs over the month of January.
While the funds are flowing again, the federal government is appealing the decisions to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, which so far has not intervened.
Trump, meanwhile is calling the project a “future boondoggle” in a post on Truth Social. He vowed that the federal government will not pay for any cost overruns and he also denied reports he demanded Penn Station be named after him to release the funding.
“Please let this statement represent the fact that, under no circumstances, will the Federal Government be responsible for ANY COST OVERRUNS—NOT ONE DOLLAR!” Trump wrote.
What began as a touted $16 billion infrastructure project (over $11 billion in federal funding, the rest, federal loans to be repaid by New York and New Jersey) has become a Game of Thrones plot line, involving threats of winter, legendary characters, and what some deem the fierce people of the North.
Citing issues with the Gateway Development Commission DEI policies in early September of last year, the Trump Administration insisted on defunding the work until those policies were changed. Subsequently, both states and the GDC each filed separate lawsuits to restore the money that had already been approved by Congressional vote at the beginning of Gateway in 2024.
The Project involves a twin-tube tunnel between North Bergen, NJ, and Penn Station. Both New York and New Jersey, the two states the form the Gateway Commission, had sued the federal government earlier this month, alleging it violated the Administrative Procedures Act by halting payments to Gateway.
The fierce people of the North chimed in.
Governor Kathy Hochul convened a morning press conference at the NYC entrance to the Gateway Project on Feb. 17, accompanied by 150 jobless union workers and New York State Building and Construction Trades Council President, Gary LaBarbara. “This isn’t a Republican tunnel or a Democratic tunnel, right?”, he opined, “This should not be a political tug of war.”
After mentioning the two payments, the Hochul mentioned her family’s strong union bonds, then, in a plea to D.C., noted how important the Gateway Tunnel is; it’s the largest infrastructure project in America, essential for the safety of 200,000 daily commuters, and an expected 10,000 construction jobs over the life of the project which is not slated to end until 2035.
“Mr. President, I know for a fact a lot of these guys might have supported you,” Hochul said. “How can you throw them out of their jobs? How can you tell them to go home? How do they go back to their families and tell their kids?”
The mood on that damp grey morning matched the knowledge that no work would start until all the allotted funds were in hand.
At a Q&A session afterwards, Gateway’s program delivery chief, James Starace mentioned that the work that had stopped on February 6 meant that some of the workers who had left would need to be replaced, the project losing momentum and some institutional knowledge.
On February 18, a release of the remaining $98 million by the feds was received by Gateway. Work will start again next week, with union members back on the job after almost three weeks of inactivity.