Portal North Bridge, a key component of the larger Gateway Program, has reached 50% completion, New Jersey Transit, Amtrak and prime construction contractor Skanska/Traylor Bros. PNB Joint Venture (STJV) reported on Aug. 29. The new, fixed-span double-track bridge will replace the current 114-year-old, problematic swing-span bridge, which opens for maritime traffic, resulting in a bottleneck on the Northeast Corridor between Penn Station Newark and Penn Station New York.
NJ Transit President and CEO Kevin Corbett toured a port near Albany, N.Y., where the Portal Arches, part of the Portal North Bridge, are being built and assembled. Each arch weighs approximately 2,500 tons (5 million pounds) and measures about 400 feet long and 80 feet tall. Currently nearly 70% complete, the Portal Arches will be transported by barges down the Hudson River later this year.
Rising 50 feet above the Hackensack River in the New Jersey Meadowlands along the “High Line” segment of the NEC—double the clearance of the existing bridge—Portal North will span 2.44 miles and includes construction of retaining walls, deep foundations, concrete piers, structural steel bridge spans, rail systems, demolition of the existing bridge, and related incidental works. The U.S. Department of Transportation, New Jersey, New York and Amtrak are funding the project. In January 2021, a Full Funding Grant Agreement (FFGA) that secured $766.5 million in Federal Transit Administration dollars was signed. In October 2021, NJ Transit, as lead agency, awarded a $1.6 billion construction contract awarded to STJV—the single largest construction award in NJT history.
“Less than two years after officially breaking ground in August 2022, NJ Transit is pleased to be able to demonstrate that mega-projects in the Northeast can be advanced on time and on budget,” said Corbett. “The new Portal North Bridge will significantly enhance the customer experience for New Jerseyans, as well as all those commuting along the entire Northeast Corridor between Washington, D.C. and Boston.”
“We are excited to mark this significant milestone as we continue to advance our contribution to the creation of a new Portal North Bridge,” said Brian Reilly, Skanska Vice President of Operations and STJV Project Director. “Upon final completion, this vital passageway will vastly enhance the travel experience for the thousands of daily commuters and New Jersey residents who rely on this bridge.”
