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Tunnel boring begins on $16 billion Hudson River rail project

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Coverage spectrum

Covered by 4 outlets, mostly right-leaning (75%).

4 articles in total. The spectrum counts each outlet once and leaves opinion out. How we measure bias

Officials from New York and New Jersey held a ceremonial launch Monday for a giant boring machine beginning work on a new Hudson River rail tunnel, part of the roughly $16 billion Gateway program. The machine will carve nearly a mile through rock in the Palisades between North Bergen and Weehawken, New Jersey. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill both spoke at the event, with Sherrill calling the corridor "the main artery" of a region generating 20% of U.S. GDP. Some outlets note the project follows a dispute in which the Trump administration froze federal funding in October 2025 over “unconstitutional DEI principles,” before a federal judge ordered the money restored in June. The existing 116-year-old tunnel carries about 200,000 daily passengers, and the new project is projected for completion by 2035.

Headline and summary written by Mantle’s AI from the coverage below, under published rules. How this works

What happened

Key points

Each point shows who reports it, from Far Left to Far Right.

  1. A boring machine began drilling for the new Hudson River rail tunnel on Monday

    Reported byLeftRight

  2. The Gateway project is estimated to cost about $16 billion

    Reported byLeftRight

  3. The Trump administration froze federal funding for the project in October 2025, citing “unconstitutional DEI principles,” before a court ordered it restored in June

    Reported byRight

  4. The existing tunnel, built in 1910, carries about 200,000 passengers daily

    Reported byLeftRight

  5. New York and New Jersey officials framed the tunnel as economically vital, with Sen. Chuck Schumer warning the national economy could suffer without it

    Reported byLeft

  6. The project is projected for completion by 2035

    Reported byRight

How each side tells it

Compare views

  • the left

    1 outlet

    The left side's only supplied coverage is an Associated Press wire report published by ABC News, which frames the tunnel as a regional and national economic necessity through officials' quotes.

    Drill to dig Hudson River tunnel connecting New York and New Jersey
    ABC NewsLeftAll left-leaning headlines

  • the center

    No coverage yet

    No center outlet that Mantle follows has covered this story yet. That absence is part of the picture.

  • the right

    3 outlets

    Center Square and The Epoch Times frame the milestone around the political fight over federal funding, while The Washington Times simply republishes the same AP wire report used on the left.

    Digging Starts for New $16 Billion Train Tunnel Project Under Hudson River
    The Epoch TimesFar RightAll right-leaning headlines

The words they chose

Language to notice

Words that carry a judgement beyond the facts. Tap a highlighted word anywhere on the page to see why.

Mantle found no loaded language in this coverage. Every headline and opening was checked against Mantle’s published word list, and Mantle’s AI read all 4 articles in context. Straight reporting often has none.

See for yourself

Side by side

What each side leads with and what it leaves out. Open a side to read its headlines.

From the left

1 outlet

Leads with

  • economic significance of the corridor
  • quotes from Sherrill and Schumer
  • scale of the boring machine

Leaves out

  • the Trump administration's funding freeze
  • the court order restoring funding

Reported by other sides, not found in this side’s coverage.

See the headline from the leftHide the headlines
  • ABC NewsLeftAssociated Press report

    Drill to dig Hudson River tunnel connecting New York and New Jersey

    Powerful cutters have whirred to life on a giant drill that will begin boring a new train tunnel under the Hudson River connecting Manhattan to New Jersey

    Read at ABC News (opens in a new tab)

From the center

0 outlets

No center outlet that Mantle follows has covered this story yet. That absence is part of the picture.

From the right

3 outlets

Leads with

  • dispute with the Trump administration over funding
  • legal and budgetary history of the project
  • engineering details of the tunnel boring

Leaves out

  • Schumer's warning about national economic collapse
  • Sherrill's description of the corridor as an economic artery

Reported by other sides, not found in this side’s coverage.

See the 3 headlines from the rightHide the headlines

Articles you open from here build My Mix, a private picture of how your reading spreads across the spectrum, kept on this device. What is My Mix?

The left is Far Left and Left together. The right is Right and Far Right together. Every outlet keeps its own five-point rating.

Who reported it when

How the coverage built up

  • Left

    1 day 4 hr later

    Its first report, Sep 29, 6:13 PM EDT

  • Center

    No report yet

    From the outlets Mantle follows

  • Right

    First to report

    The Center Square, Sep 28, 2:09 PM EDT

See the order the outlets reported inHide the order
  1. The Center SquareRightSep 28, 2:09 PM EDT
  2. The Epoch TimesFar RightSep 28, 8:34 PM EDT
  3. ABC NewsLeftSep 29, 6:13 PM EDT
  4. The Washington TimesRightSep 29, 7:17 PM EDT

Times are the ones the outlets published in their own feeds, in Eastern time. Opinion is left out.

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