Project Status
Planning
Environmental Review
Design
Construction
Complete
Portal North Bridge Project
NJ TRANSIT and Amtrak plan to replace the century-old, swing-span Portal Bridge over the Hackensack River in New Jersey with a new, more reliable, fixed-span bridge.
The century-old Portal Bridge was built by the Pennsylvania Railroad and entered revenue service in November 1910. Today, the bridge hosts more than 450 daily Amtrak and NJ TRANSIT trains traveling between Newark, NJ and Penn Station, New York. The two-track span is a major bottleneck and source of delay, particularly when the aging mechanical components malfunction when opening and closing for maritime traffic.
The two-track replacement bridge, known as Portal North Bridge, is designed as a high-level, fixed-span bridge, eliminating the movable components and risk of malfunction. The new bridge will rise more than 50-feet over the Hackensack River and span nearly 2.5 miles of the Northeast Corridor. The project is estimated to cost approximately $1.8 billion. Amtrak and NJ TRANSIT are working closely with U.S. DOT to finalize a Full Funding Grant Agreement so that major construction can proceed as soon as possible.
Benefits
- Eliminate movable span
- Improve reliability
- Increase train speeds
- Remove conflicts with maritime traffic
Partners
- Amtrak
- NJ TRANSIT
- US DOT Federal Railroad Administration
- Port Authority of New York and New Jersey