Hudson Tunnel project will temporarily occupy small portion of 1600 Park; city, developers say park features will remain open

Hudson Tunnel Project officials told the Hoboken City Council on Wednesday that refinements to construction plans will require temporary and limited use of a county-owned portion of 1600 Park for ground stabilization and to underpin the Willow Avenue viaduct, and that officials consider the changes a "de minimis" use under Section 4(f) of federal law.

The presentation, by George Pascales, community relations manager for the Hudson Tunnel Project, Jake Wade, a senior environmental planner, and David Smith, the project's tunnel engineer, described two work areas adjacent to Hoboken: a ground-stabilization construction staging area that would occupy a portion of 17th Street and an area between 17th Street and the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail, and underpinning work beneath the Willow Avenue viaduct that marginally encroaches on the Willow Avenue right-of-way portion of 1600 Park.

GDC said the ground-stabilization staging area would be active for about 19 months beginning in early 2026 and that Willow Avenue underpinning would require roughly 14 months of work starting mid-2026. The GDC presentation said about 2,500 square feet, or roughly 2.5% of the publicly accessible park, would be temporarily occupied; permanent above-ground pile caps would affect about 500 square feet (0.5%) of that county-owned right-of-way portion of the park. GDC representatives said the city-owned portion of the park would not be impacted.

Why it matters: The Hudson Tunnel Project is a multi-state rail project intended to add new capacity under the Hudson River. Hoboken officials and neighbors pressed GDC on park access, tree removal and impacts to transit and traffic. Council members asked for clearer contractor plans and protections for pedestrians, park users and nearby older buildings that could be sensitive to vibration.

What GDC told the council: Jake Wade summarized the Section 4(f) review (a federal rule assessing effects on parks, recreation lands and historic sites), saying the additional detail developed since the 2021 Final Environmental Impact Statement and Record of Decision requires coordination over the county-right-of-way portion of 1600 Park but, in GDC's view, meets the definition of a de minimis impact because the occupancies would not "affect the features, attributes, or activities" that qualify the park for protection and continuous access to key park features would be maintained. Wade said GDC is coordinating right-of-way-user agreements with the city.

Details and constraints: Officials said three park trees fall within the construction footprint; two would be protected in place and one would require removal, and the removed tree would likely be replaced at the end of the construction window (GDC estimated the replacement around mid-2027). The pedestrian walkway between Willow Avenue and adjacent athletic fields would be narrowed to about 10 feet at its narrowest point during work; adjacent to the public bathroom building a minimum clear width of 3 feet would be maintained. GDC said the public bathroom facilities and key park features would remain open and accessible throughout construction.

Traffic and transit concerns: Council members pressed the project on potential closures of Willow Avenue and impacts to the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail. Project engineer David Smith said the critical step of transferring load from existing viaduct footings to new underpinning would require temporary closures while the contractor jacks the bridge and transfers the load; those transfers are "pretty quick," he said, and GDC expects they can happen at night but needs the contractor's methods to confirm whether one or multiple overnight or weekend closures would be required. Smith estimated it would likely be closer to a single incident but said it could be more than one and "not gonna be more than 10." On the light rail, GDC's explanation said no systemic impacts are anticipated for the Willow underpinning; ground-improvement (jet grouting) for tunneling will be executed from alongside the tracks with fences and monitoring, and only limited, contractor-dependent outages may be required.

Community outreach and comment deadline: Pascales and Wade repeated that project materials are posted on hudsontunnelproject.com and said the project is accepting public comments through July 7 (contact details were shown during the presentation). GDC representatives said they will open a neighborhood outreach office near the Hudson County staging area, maintain a 24-hour construction hotline and assign a dedicated project liaison for ongoing coordination.

What council members pushed for: Members asked that bids require nighttime work where feasible to reduce daytime disruption, that the project provide firm plans for vibration monitoring and mitigation around historic and older concrete buildings, and that contractors provide more precise timing once selected. Council members said they wanted definitive answers about light-rail outage timing and how many closures might occur; GDC said procurement is underway and they expect a contractor by year end and better details then.

What remains unresolved: Project officials said the Federal Transit Administration will make the final Section 4(f) determination; GDC's current assessment is that the impacts qualify as de minimis. Exact contractor means-and-methods, the number and timing of any weekend or overnight closures and details of fence and circulation plans will be determined after contractor selection. GDC representatives said they are coordinating tree removal mitigation with the city.

Sources: Presentation to the Hoboken City Council by George Pascales, Jake Wade and David Smith of the Hudson Tunnel Project; council questions and public remarks recorded in the council meeting transcript.

Ending: Council members thanked GDC for the briefing and requested written follow-up on tree replacement caliper, contractor means and methods, vibration-monitoring plans and a timeline for any planned closures.