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The Gateway Development Commission announced July 29 at the commission’s board meeting that James Starace will join GDC as chief of program delivery in August. Hamed Nejad, who has served as acting chief technical officer since September 2024, will transition into the role of chief engineer. 


As chief of program delivery, Starace will oversee the department responsible for design and construction of the Hudson Tunnel Project. He will lead all aspects of remaining design and engineering, construction, interface management, and other technical work areas.

Starace will also work closely with GDC’s supporting or executing partners (SEPs) – PANYNJ, Amtrak, and NJ TRANSIT – to identify and proactively mitigate risks that could impact the project’s schedule or budget. Starace will serve on GDC’s executive leadership team and will report directly to the CEO.

In his new role as chief engineer, Nejad, reporting to the chief of program delivery, will continue to play a key role overseeing technical elements of project design and construction, including design review, value engineering, quality control, permitting and environmental compliance, and safety and construction management. 

“I have served as a Field Engineer, Project Engineer, Design Manager and Project Manager in my 20 years of experience in the underground construction industry. The most significant projects include: (1) CLEM 7 tunnel Project, Queensland, Australia, (2) Airport Link Tunnel Project, Queensland, Australia, (3) Isfahan, Iran Metro Subway System north-south line tunnels, (4) New York City (“NYC”) Metropolitan Transit Authority Capital Construction East Side Access (“MTACC ESA”) combined Contract CM009 Manhattan Tunnels Excavation and CM019 Manhattan Structures 1, and (5) NYC MTACC ESA Contract CM005 (Manhattan South Structures).” 

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