Last month I posted about Amtrak's New Era of Rail initiative, which included upgrades like the Gateway Program in the New York City area. One important bottleneck in northern New Jersey is the...
Last month I posted about Amtrak's New Era of Rail initiative, which included upgrades like the Gateway Program in the New York City area.
One important bottleneck in northern New Jersey is the Portal Bridge, which is old, small, and prone to breakage. This low-level bridge is the Northeast Corridor's major single point of failure, as it has to move to allow ships to pass beneath it, stopping train traffic. When it breaks, trains are delayed—this happens often enough to be quite a problem, as the bridge is over a century old. This is the only way to get through the NJ marshlands to NYC, so the bridge failing has a "ripple effect" on the entire Corridor.
Amtrak just wanted to let us know that the replacement project is 25% complete as of this summer. It's on schedule to be completed in 2027. They claim it is also on-budget: remarkable! This is a kind of nothing article, but it's a good reminder that infrastructure work is always ongoing, even if it's not immediately obvious. When complete, trains will be able to cross the bridge at speeds of 90mph, up from 60mph. Not having to decelerate and accelerate over this span is important for fast service between New York and southerly cities.
Other portions of the Gateway Program, including the Hudson River Tunnel Project (website)—which will double capacity across the river—are also under construction. Combined with the Portal North Bridge project, average speed in the region should increase considerably. The overall program will take several years to complete but will serve as a major improvement to the region's transportation network.
Indeed. American infrastructure costs are uniquely high compared to other developed countries (and not for particularly compelling reasons), so this is nice. Yay Andy Byford? The Portal North...
Indeed. American infrastructure costs are uniquely high compared to other developed countries (and not for particularly compelling reasons), so this is nice. Yay Andy Byford? The Portal North Bridge is a partnership between Amtrak and NJ Transit; it seems that the latter is overseeing the contracting, or at least spearheaded it. They went with Skanska-Traylor PNB Joint Venture from Queens, NY. Credit to both agencies and the contractor, I suppose.
Last month I posted about Amtrak's New Era of Rail initiative, which included upgrades like the Gateway Program in the New York City area.
One important bottleneck in northern New Jersey is the Portal Bridge, which is old, small, and prone to breakage. This low-level bridge is the Northeast Corridor's major single point of failure, as it has to move to allow ships to pass beneath it, stopping train traffic. When it breaks, trains are delayed—this happens often enough to be quite a problem, as the bridge is over a century old. This is the only way to get through the NJ marshlands to NYC, so the bridge failing has a "ripple effect" on the entire Corridor.
Amtrak just wanted to let us know that the replacement project is 25% complete as of this summer. It's on schedule to be completed in 2027. They claim it is also on-budget: remarkable! This is a kind of nothing article, but it's a good reminder that infrastructure work is always ongoing, even if it's not immediately obvious. When complete, trains will be able to cross the bridge at speeds of 90mph, up from 60mph. Not having to decelerate and accelerate over this span is important for fast service between New York and southerly cities.
Other portions of the Gateway Program, including the Hudson River Tunnel Project (website)—which will double capacity across the river—are also under construction. Combined with the Portal North Bridge project, average speed in the region should increase considerably. The overall program will take several years to complete but will serve as a major improvement to the region's transportation network.
On time and on budget is something I never thought I'd hear for a construction project in NJ
Indeed. American infrastructure costs are uniquely high compared to other developed countries (and not for particularly compelling reasons), so this is nice. Yay Andy Byford? The Portal North Bridge is a partnership between Amtrak and NJ Transit; it seems that the latter is overseeing the contracting, or at least spearheaded it. They went with Skanska-Traylor PNB Joint Venture from Queens, NY. Credit to both agencies and the contractor, I suppose.