One of the biggest U.S. transportation projects is looking to get off the drawing board.
The first contracts for bids for a new train tunnel under the Hudson River were released Friday.
The $8.7 billion project is expected to link Manhattan and northern New Jersey by 2017.
The contracts are for an underpass near the tunnel mouth in northern New Jersey and 21,200 feet of tunneling in Manhattan.
The overall project is expected to generate 6,000 construction-related jobs and double train capacity into and out of Manhattan.
Selection of the winning bids and groundbreaking is expected to begin in the spring.
Copyright AP - Associated Press
