Portal Bridge Project Advances

NJ TRANSIT recently signed a Full Funding Grant Agreement (FFGA) with the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) for construction of the new Portal North Bridge on the Northeast Corridor (NEC). The FFGA guarantees the $766.5 million the federal government will provide for the $1.8 billion project. The balance of the funding will come from Amtrak and New Jersey sources.

Governor Phil Murphy attended the FFGA signing event, along with New Jersey Department of Transportation Commissioner & NJ TRANSIT Board Chair Diane Gutierrez-Scaccetti, NJ TRANSIT President & CEO Kevin Corbett, U.S. Senator Bob Menendez, Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill, Amtrak Board Chair Tony Coscia, Amtrak President Stephen Gardner and New Jersey Gateway Development Commissioners Janine Bauer and Balpreet Grewal-Virk.

The Portal North Bridge project will replace a 111-year-old swing-span bridge with a fixed-span bridge across the Hackensack River, located on the NEC between Newark Penn Station and Secaucus Junction. When completed, it will eliminate delays for tens of thousands NJ TRANSIT and Amtrak daily customers traveling to and from Penn Station New York. Due to the age of the bridge, it often fails to close properly after opening, which delays trains until the issue is resolved and the bridge can be closed completely.

The procurement process has already started. NJ TRANSIT has released an Invitation for Bid (IFB) for the work, which will include construction of the higher, fixed-span bridge and related rail infrastructure. Groundbreaking for the project is scheduled to take place later this year.