All Things Portal Bridge: Amtrak and NJT Status and Replacement Discussion

Fair-use quote per forum policy:

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Of that, $55 million will go toward the federal cost share for the Portal Bridge project. NJ Transit was awarded $36.4 million to reconstruct electrical substation 41 in Kearny, which supplies power to a stretch of the Northeast Corridor and existing Hudson rail tunnels leading into New York Penn Station.

“This federal funding keeps Gateway moving forward and makes needed upgrades along the busy Northeast Corridor to provide commuters a safer, more reliable and more resilient transit system, said Sen. Robert Menendez, the ranking member of the Senate’s transit subcommittee.

The priority rating for the project was upgraded in February, positioning the construction work in line for the federal funding that would allow it to begin.

The 110-year-old bridge carries about 450 NJ Transit and Amtrak trains daily. but breaks down frequently, getting stuck in the up position. The new bridge will be higher and will not have to open for marine traffic.
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Read More: Portal Bridge replacement project advances with federal funds | https://nj1015.com/portal-bridge-replac ... m=referral

Another bite out of the elephant. Turning into something of a buffet lately with progress over at NYP as well.

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but breaks down frequently, getting stuck in the up position

Guess the Star-Ledger couldn't be bothered to realize that this bridge does not move up or down.

Apparently Murphy and Trump had a sit-down and reached some kind of agreement on releasing the funds to do the new portal bridge: https://www.nj.com/politics/2020/06/aft ... oceed.html

Maybe there's hope. Still think 1.6B is a bit much, tho - -

Finally!

https://trn.trains.com/news/news-wire/2 ... al-funding

Portal Bridge project advances with commitment for federal funding
The project to replace New Jersey’s infamous Portal Bridge has received a Federal Transit Administration commitment to fund nearly half the project, state officials said Friday. New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy wrote on Twitter that the bridge will “enter into its engineering phase with FULL federal funding.” NorthJersey.com reports that, in a letter to NJ Transit CEO Kevin Corbett, the FTA said it had elevated the $1.8 billion project to the engineering phase, making it eligible for $766.5 in federal funding. The letter also said NJ Transit must submit a revised financial plan and demonstrate the ability to cover a cost increase or funding shortfall. The state and Amtrak have already committed to funding shares of the project. The announcement comes a week after Murphy met with President Donald Trump, after which Trump tweeted that he had given the project “authorization to proceed” [see “Caltrain to increase service beginning Monday,” News Wire Digest, June 13, 2020]. Mechanical problems with the more than century-old bridge have sometimes led to significant delays for NJ Transit and Amtrak trains on the Northeast Corridor.

So any idea how quickly this money from the federal government will be released? Any idea if he final design for the bridge is done? How many years will it take to actually start construction?

Ladies and Gentlemen, NJT and Amtrak have FINALLY made an agreement on the Portal Bridge, with groundbreaking projected to start this spring!!!

https://trn.trains.com/news/news-wire/2 ... tal-bridge

An agreement to replace New Jersey’s infamous Portal Bridge on the Northeast Corridor is finally in place. NJ.com reports that the NJ Transit board of directors has unanimously approved an agreement with Amtrak, owner of the bridge, to replace the 110-year-old swing bridge over the Hackensack River between Kearny and Secaucus, N.J. Monday’s agreement could mean a groundbreaking next spring for the replacement project, described in detail here. The unreliability of the bridge, which sometimes fails to lock back into place after it is opened, has often led to delays for NJ Transit and Amtrak passengers. The problems led to a tongue-in-cheek GoFundMe campaign for a replacement [see “GoFundMe campaign wants to replace Portal Bridge,” Trains News Wire, Nov. 30, 2018], limits on when the bridge could be opened [see “Coast Guard to make permanent ban on rush-hour openings of Portal Bridge,” Trains News Wire, Oct. 2, 2019], and finally, an agreement for Federal Transit Administration funds that helped make Monday’s agreement possible [see “Portal Bridge project advances to engineering phase, gets federal funding,” News Wire Digest, June 22, 2020].

The NJ.com article that the Train's article refers to:

https://www.nj.com/news/2020/07/portal- ... laced.html

The NJ Transit Board Meeting agenda item that was approved can be found here:

https://d2g63oyneaimm8.cloudfront.net/s ... nda_V1.pdf

This is just for the 2 track Portal North alignment.


Amtrak Website

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 funding and finance plan so that major construction can proceed as soon as possible.

Hmmm... just looking at that image makes me wonder...

Oh, there looks like there's enough room to four-track with two bridges, essentially 4-tracking between Manhattan Transfer to Secacus.

I hope they can do Portal North and Portal South bridges!

STrRedWolf wrote: ↑Wed Jul 29, 2020 6:27 pm Hmmm... just looking at that image makes me wonder...

Oh, there looks like there's enough room to four-track with two bridges, essentially 4-tracking between Manhattan Transfer to Secacus.

I hope they can do Portal North and Portal South bridges!

that was indeed always the plan and the intent. time will tell whether portal south will ever get built.

Since this has not been noted here, another step forward along the way:
https://www.rtands.com/rail-news/new-p ... annel=news

Am I missing something? Portal is only going to be a two track bridge? If so, it becomes the bottleneck after the Gateway Tunnels are complete.

Current bridge is a 2 track guaranteed slow order,the first new bridge gets rid of the older "moveable" bridge,
A second bridge would setup access to Gateway alignment, but has yet to be funded.

How hard would it be right now to build a relatively simple 4 track bridge and be done with that? There are loud claims (are they factual?) that this would cost a lot less than 2 2-track bridges? The feeling you get from certain editorials is that the powers to be in Gateway are determined to make this project - from day one, no later stages, as bit and expensive as possible, to not due the same sort of repairs as NYCTA did to flooded subway tunnels ASAP but insists on waiting for a new tunnel and then close the old and completely rebuild at a much higher cost. Now I've seen the video of officials touring the 'crumbling' tunnel, and sure, it looks awful.

What is the best way to do this? No one will fund a Taj Mahal any more, yet it sure looks like that's what Gateway insists on being. Who to believe?