Big Piece of The Puzzle
First arch for new NJ Transit rail bridge barged into place
By: James M. O'Neill
NorthJersey.com
USA Today Network - New Jersey
..... The first of three giant arches that will support a new railroad bridge over the Hackensack River has been moved into place at the constitution site, and NJ Transit and Amtrak officials gave the media a tour of the arch Tuesday. [11/26/2024]
......
The arches will help support the new Portal North Bridge spanning the Hackensack between Kearny and Secuaucus, replacing the 114-eyar old Portal Bridge, a swing bridge that often gets stuck, causing frustrating delays for Amtrak and NJ Transit riders.
..... The first arch was set on a barge that made a 30-hour trip down the Hudson River last week [11/20/2024] and then up the Hackensack River to the site of the new bridge.
..... The second arch is expected to be barged down the Hudson in mid - to late January, [2025]
Amtrak said.
..... The old bridge must periodically open for barges and other rive traffic on the Hackensack River, a process that causes delays for NJ Transit and Amtrak trains headed to and from Manhattan's Penn Station, along the busiest stretch of passenger rail in the country. The old bridge sometimes get stuck in the open position further causing delays.
..... The new bridge will be a fixed span that eliminates the need to open and close.
.....
It will rise 50 feet over the Hackensack River, nearly doubling the height clearance.
.....
"The new bridge will be in service by late 2026," aid Amtrak spokesman Jason Abrams. But the full project won't be finished until 2027, when demolition of the old bridge is completed he said.
..... NJ Transit broke ground on the project in August 2022.
..... "Together, we are transforming the Portal North Bridge into an access point that will provide our rail passengers with a more reliable commute," Governor Phil Murphy said.
.....
Senator Cory Booker agreed. "for hundreds of thousands of New Jersey's daily rail commuters, travel has been dictated by the limitations of aging infrastructure," he said. "However, the arrival of one of the Portal North Bridge's three arches marks a significant step toward upgrading this vital section of the Northeast Corridor."
..... Each arch of the new bridge weighs about 5 million pounds and measures about 400 feet long and 80 feet tall. The arches are being built near Albany, New York.
..... The bridge project is being funded by the U.S. Transitoriness Department, New Jersey, New York and Amtrak. In January 2021, Murphy announced a grant agreement that secured $766.5 million in Federal transit Administration funding to help pay for constitution.
..... In October that year, Murphy and NJ Transit announced the approval of a $1.6 billion construction contract awarded to Skanska/Traylor Bros PNB Joint Venture to build the bridge. The contract is the single largest constructions award in NJ Transit's history.
..... The Portal North Bridge is one segment of a much larger Gateway project to improve service reliability into Manhattan.
..... It includes $16 billion to build a new two-track rail tunnel under the Hudson River, which is expected to be completed in 2035.
..... Then the exiting century-old rail tunnels that was seriously damage by Superstorm Sandy in 2012 will be rehabilitated. Equipment failures ion the existent tunnel often wreak havoc for NJ Transit and Amtrak riders.
..... Staff writer Daniel Munoz contributed to this story.