A federal judge on Friday temporarily blocked the Trump administration from cutting off federal funding for the Gateway Tunnel Project, preventing an immediate halt to construction on the multibillion-dollar effort to link New York and New Jersey.

Jeannette Vargas issued the order just hours before work on the project was set to stop without court intervention. Vargas also directed both sides to submit additional briefing in the coming days as she considers the broader dispute.

Project officials said a pause would have triggered the immediate loss of nearly 1,000 jobs, while a prolonged shutdown could have endangered roughly 11,000 construction positions.

The Trump administration froze funding for the $16 billion tunnel during last fall’s government shutdown. Although the shutdown ended in November and Congress has since passed new funding packages, the administration has not released the money.

According to multiple sources cited by NBC News, the administration asked Chuck Schumer, the Senate minority leader, to agree to rename Dulles International Airport in Washington and Penn Station in New York after President Donald Trump in exchange for restoring the funds.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul welcomed the ruling, saying it affirmed that the funding freeze is “likely to be found unlawful.”

“This ruling is a victory for the thousands of union workers who will build Gateway and the hundreds of thousands of riders who rely on it every day,” Hochul said in a statement.

New York Attorney General Letitia James also praised the decision, calling it “a victory for workers and commuters in New York and New Jersey,” and warning that the freeze threatened a project critical to the region.

The $16.1 billion initiative includes a new rail tunnel beneath the Hudson River connecting New York and New Jersey. After years of delays, the project was revived in 2024 when the Biden administration pledged an additional $6.9 billion in federal support.

In their lawsuit, New York and New Jersey argued that suspending funding over political disputes violated federal law, asking the court to block and ultimately overturn the administration’s decision to withhold the money.