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NORTH BERGEN, N.J. — <\/span>Powerful cutters have whirred to life on a giant drill that will begin boring a new train tunnel<\/a> under the Hudson River connecting Manhattan to New Jersey.<\/p>\n Officials gathered in North Bergen, New Jersey, on Monday to ceremonially flip the switch on the Gateway tunnel, one of the largest U.S. mass transit projects<\/a> in generations.<\/p>\n \u201cOur region is the beating heart of America, generating 20% of the nation\u2019s GDP,\u201d declared Democratic New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill. \u201cAnd this 10-mile stretch of track is its main artery.\u201d<\/p>\n New York and New Jersey officials said the tunnel is vital to the national economy because the existing 116-year-old passage serves about 200,000 passengers daily. U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer said the \u201cwhole national economy could collapse\u201d if the new tunnel isn’t built. <\/p>\n \u201cDid this matter to New York and New Jersey commuters? Yes,\u201d the New York Democrat said. \u201cBut it mattered to all of America as well.\u201d <\/p>\n The 1,680-ton tunnel-boring machine unveiled Monday is nearly the length of two football fields and armed with cutters harder than diamonds. It was custom made in Germany and sent in parts to the U.S., where it has been carefully reassembled on site in North Bergen the last few months. <\/p>\n Officials on Monday said the machine is still undergoing final testing but is expected to begin cutting through the Palisades Cliffs in New Jersey in the coming days.<\/p>\n The machine is one of two that are expected to carve a roughly 1-mile (1.6-kilometer) stretch through the dense, volcanic rock of the cliffs at a pace of about 30 feet (9.1 meters) a day. A second set of machines will then take over to carve the tunnel section under the Hudson River.<\/p>\n The $16 billion project is expected to take around a decade to complete but has already weathered years of political and financial setbacks. <\/p>\n