New York City is undergoing a significant transformation in its transportation infrastructure, with major projects pushing construction firms to operate in high-stakes environments. Industry experts at the New York Build Conference highlighted how these developments are shaping the sector.

The overhaul includes multibillion-dollar projects such as the $16 billion Gateway Program, the $5.5 billion Interborough Express, and the $7 billion Penn Station redevelopment. Additionally, the city's three major airports are receiving extensive upgrades, presenting both opportunities and challenges for contractors.

“There’s an incredible amount of construction that is associated with this,” said Aryeh Lemberger, senior vice president at WSP, during the conference in March. “It’ll create a lot of opportunity for construction management professionals. The trades will certainly be involved. So, it’s a game changer in so many different ways.”

Executing such large-scale projects in one of the country’s most densely populated areas requires more than financial investment. Successful delivery depends on stakeholder collaboration, creative procurement strategies, and continuous operations.

One of the most complex undertakings is the Gateway Program, a new rail line connecting New Jersey and New York. Priya Jain, president of the Americas at Mace, emphasized the importance of comprehensive planning.

“It’s not just about constructing this,” Jain noted. “When you go through the design approvals, the environmental [review], and then you look at the communities that are getting impacted, this is not something you can do just at night time.”

A key component of the Gateway Program is a new tunnel beneath the Hudson River, which will double train capacity between New Jersey and Manhattan. Once complete, the existing century-old tunnel, which suffered damage during Superstorm Sandy, will undergo a full rehabilitation. The combined effort aims to modernize the Northeast Corridor, a vital rail link stretching from Washington, D.C., to Boston.

However, Jain stressed that the complexity extends beyond construction logistics.

“This job is not only about building a new tunnel, it’s also about rehabilitating the original tunnel that’s out there,” she said. “We are tapping into a lot of local firms. From a minority, disadvantaged business perspective, roughly about 25%, that’s where we’re trending right now.”

Stakeholder coordination is crucial, with entities such as Amtrak, New Jersey Transit, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and local communities all involved. The intricate scheduling of utility relocations and environmental permitting is just as critical as the construction work itself, Jain added.

A major contract for the Gateway Program was recently awarded to a joint venture between Frontier-Kemper and its parent company, Tutor Perini, with a $1.18 billion design-build contract to construct a key portion of the project.

Expanding Transit Access in the Boroughs

While the Gateway Program focuses on regional connectivity, the Interborough Express (IBX) aims to enhance local transit options within Brooklyn and Queens. This light rail project will repurpose an underutilized freight rail corridor, reducing the need for costly new land acquisition or tunneling.

“It would be a first of its kind,” Lemberger said. “It would be game changing because it would connect Brooklyn and Queens without having to go through Manhattan to get there.”

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) estimates that IBX will provide service to nearly 900,000 residents. George Guillaume, senior aviation director at AECOM, stressed the project's significance.

“When you talk about transformative projects for New York, this is probably on the top of the list,” he said. “What the IBX will do is it will transform the lives of sections of Brooklyn and Queens that are underserved with regards to mass transit.”

The MTA issued a request for proposals for IBX in late 2024, though no general contractor has been selected yet.

Upgrading Penn Station

Another major project reshaping NYC’s transit landscape is the redevelopment of Penn Station. Long criticized for its outdated design and congestion, the station is being modernized with expanded concourses, better accessibility, and improved infrastructure.

“If you want to increase the height of the ceiling, for instance, that is a monumental undertaking, because there is structure there that needs to be dealt with, and you can’t close Penn Station to deal with that,” Lemberger explained.

As a crucial hub for Amtrak, NJ Transit, and the Long Island Rail Road, Penn Station must remain operational during construction. This requires precise sequencing of work to minimize disruptions while coordinating with multiple transit authorities.

“You have to deal with it while keeping it all moving, all circulating, all operating at the same time,” Lemberger said. “It’s a monumental challenge.”

Airport Transformations

Similar complexities apply to the ongoing airport redevelopments across the region. Guillaume pointed to the LaGuardia Airport overhaul as an example of how large-scale construction can be managed while maintaining operations.

The $8 billion LaGuardia project introduced new terminals, reconfigured taxiways, and modernized infrastructure. These improvements paved the way for the $19 billion redevelopment of JFK Airport, which relies on various procurement models to coordinate between multiple stakeholders.

Jain emphasized the industry's need to adapt contracting models to match the scope of these projects.

“I think one of the things we have to look at as an industry is ‘what are the contracting models we are going to be using?’” she said. “It’s not just about design, it’s not just about construction. It’s about getting an operating airport or it’s about getting a tunnel going or a station going. That’s the next piece that we need to be seeing from an industry standpoint. What’s the evolution of delivery?”

At Newark Liberty International Airport, improvements include a new Terminal A, an upgraded AirTrain system, and ongoing enhancements to Terminal B. Space constraints add another layer of complexity, requiring creative construction staging to maintain passenger flow and roadway access.

“The collaboration that has to go on, and the stakeholder management, it’s immense,” Jain said. “I’m not saying that this work is not technically challenging, it’s going to be absolutely technically challenging. But bringing everybody together, going in the same direction and delivering an outcome, that’s something we are all focusing on.”

With billions of dollars in ongoing infrastructure projects, NYC’s transportation network is set for a dramatic transformation. The challenges remain substantial, but industry leaders remain optimistic about the lasting impact of these historic investments.

Originally reported by Sebastian Obando in Construction Dive.