Overview
- Gateway officials said construction will pause Friday, with roughly 1,000 workers expected to be laid off.
- Federal grants and loans have been on hold since October, initially cited for a compliance review and later linked by the White House to broader political disputes.
- The Gateway Development Commission sued this week seeking $205 million in withheld payments, while New York and New Jersey filed a separate case with an emergency hearing expected Friday.
- Winding down requires backfilling excavations, securing sites, maintaining a Hudson River cofferdam, and mothballing two tunnel-boring machines, with maintenance estimated at $15–20 million per month.
- About $2 billion has been spent on the $16 billion program, and project leaders warn a prolonged pause risks losing specialized labor and complicating any restart.