Portal Bridge Fact Sheet Summer 2015V2.Indd
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PORTAL BRIDGE REPLACEMENT PROJECT The Portal Bridge Replacement Project will replace an aging obsolete bridge with a new fi xed-span bridge resulti ng in enhanced capacity and reliability along the Northeast Corridor. PROJECT OVERVIEW The Portal Bridge is a two-track, moveable, swing-span bridge PROJECT SUMMARY that crosses over the Hackensack River in Hudson County, New Timeline Esti mated 5-year constructi on period Jersey connecti ng Newark, New Jersey and Penn Stati on, New York. This secti on of the Northeast Corridor is used solely by Am- Cost $940 million (2013 esti mate) trak and New Jersey Transit commuter rail service. Constructed Partners New Jersey Transit, Amtrak and US DOT Federal Rail- over a century ago, the bridge is one of the oldest pieces of infra- road Administrati on structure along the Northeast Corridor. Due to its age and inten- sity of use, the bridge is costly and diffi cult to maintain in work- ing order. The bridge, which hosts about 450 trains per weekday, was esti mated to cost approximately $940 million in 2013 dol- creates a bott leneck along the busy Northeast Corridor that con- lars and will proceed with the cooperati on of New Jersey Tran- fl icts with marine traffi c, limits operati ng speeds and impedes sit and Amtrak, as soon as funding can be secured. The recently effi cient and reliable passenger rail service. The bridge requires completed design process involved a preliminary design phase replacement in order to meet expected future travel demand. for which costs of $31 million were shared between New Jersey Transit and Amtrak, and fi nal design, funded by a Federal Rail- Amtrak and New Jersey Transit have completed several planning road Administrati on grant of $38.5 million. studies over the years culminati ng with fi nal design and federal environmental review to replace the aging bridge. The result is A second, two-track Portal South Bridge is proposed as part of planned constructi on of a new bridge known as Portal North the Gateway Program and when complete will double train ca- Bridge. The Portal North Bridge is designed as a new two-track, pacity along this criti cal length of the Northeast Corridor. Plan- high-level, fi xed span bridge, eliminati ng the moveable compo- ning and design of Portal South Bridge will be fi nalized following nents and risk of malfuncti on. Its design also eliminates the navi- the completi on of the federal NEC FUTURE study and environ- gati onal confl icts caused by the present bridge. The new bridge mental review process. Portal North Bridge, a new fi xed-span, high-level bridge, is fully designed and ready for constructi on. Amtrak Northeast Corridor Infrastructure & Investment Development SPRING 2015 1 The existi ng Portal Bridge was built in 1910 and serves approximately 450 NJ Transit and Amtrak trains every weekday. PROJECT BENEFITS Eliminates moveable span—The existi ng bridge has a move- service reliability of all Amtrak intercity and New Jersey Tran- able swing span that due to age and design is not capable sit commuter services in one of the most heavily used rail line of meeti ng the future travel demand along the Northeast secti ons in the world. Corridor. Built as a fi xed span bridge, the new Portal North Bridge will improve capacity and reliability by eliminati ng Increases train speeds—While trains can operate at 90 mph the operati onal and maintenance challenges that come with on adjacent porti ons of the Northeast Corridor, speeds on the opening and closing a bridge up to several ti mes a day for existi ng Portal Bridge have been permanently restricted to 60 mariti me traffi c. mph. The constructi on of Portal North Bridge is designed for speeds up to 90 mph providing a consistent level of train op- Improves reliability—Due to several factors including age, erati on across the span. design and a complicated maintenance schedule, service reli- ability along the existi ng Portal Bridge has become more and Removes confl icts with mariti me traffi c—The existi ng Por- more problemati c. A mechanical malfuncti on during a bridge tal Bridge has only 23 feet of clearance between the water opening can cause the bridge to be open for long periods of and the lowest elevati on of the bridge, requiring it to open ti me which can result in delays up and down the Northeast for numerous marine vessels, thereby disrupti ng Northeast Corridor. Even when it does operate normally, a single bridge Corridor train operati ons. Its center pier design creates navi- opening will delay many trains due to the volume of train gati onal confl icts for the larger vessels. The existi ng bridge is traffi c. The constructi on of Portal North Bridge will improve also closed to marine traffi c during the peak travel periods, making it diffi cult for marine operators to properly serve shippers. Portal North Bridge will be built as a high-level, fi xed-span bridge with 53 feet of clearance providing ample space for mariti me travel without impact to Northeast Cor- ridor train operati ons. Visit NEC.Amtrak.com for more informati on on the Gateway Program and other NEC infrastructure investments. The existi ng Portal Bridge requires frequent maintenance Amtrak Northeast Corridor Infrastructure & Investment Development and repairs due to its age and intensity of use. SPRING 2015.