Resilience Beneath the Rails: Restoring New York’s East River Tunnels

Beneath the bustling streets of New York City lies a network of tunnels that keeps millions of passengers moving each day. In October 2012, that system faced one of its greatest threats. 

Superstorm Sandy surged into the city, flooding Amtrak’s East River Tunnel (ERT) Lines 1 and 2 and both tubes of the North River Tunnel (NRT). Seawater intrusion triggered a slow but relentless deterioration — corroding metals in the concrete, damaging electrical systems and threatening the safety and reliability of America’s busiest passenger rail line, the Northeast Corridor, which serves an estimated 628,000 trips and more than 2,200 passenger trains daily.

In 2015, Amtrak selected Jacobs to lead the preliminary design for a comprehensive reconstruction. Two years later, Jacobs was awarded the final design contract — not only for ERT Lines 1 and 2, but also for structural repairs across all Amtrak tunnels in New York City.

The work is as complex as it is critical. Jacobs began in-depth structural and geotechnical investigations to assess tunnel lining integrity and buoyancy risks. The team developed repair strategies for concrete spalls, sealed leaks, addressed corrosion and prepared emergency response protocols for leakage or structural failures. 

Key project elements include:

• Performing advanced structural and geotechnical analyses to maintain stability during reconstruction, including buoyancy assessments.
• Conducting detailed deficiency surveys to identify and prioritize repairs.
• Reconstructing and enlarging bench walls and cross passages to meet National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)130 life standards.
• Replacing ballast track systems with direct fixation track to reduce stray current and increase durability.
• Upgrading traction, signal power and communication systems for modern performance.
• Modernizing ventilation, fire detection, firefighting, drainage and emergency pathfinding systems.
• Conducting the first-ever in-situ fire and smoke detection test in Amtrak’s New York City tunnels — a milestone in tunnel safety.

Despite limited tunnel access, historic infrastructure challenges and complex coordination across agencies like Amtrak, Long Island Rail Road, NJ Transit and the New York City Fire Department, Jacobs went deep — into the tunnels, into the data and into the heart of legacy infrastructure. 

From first-of-its-kind fire testing to emergency mobilization within hours, the team’s work on Amtrak’s East River Tunnel Reconstruction isn’t just about repair; it’s about redefining resilience. With continuity of leadership and seamless coordination across agencies, Jacobs is delivering not only technical excellence but strategic foresight in one of the most demanding environments imaginable, helping redefine how critical infrastructure can endure the forces of nature, time and human complexity.