USA: Amtrak is advancing a $242 million Dock Bridge rehabilitation in New Jersey to improve reliability for 720 daily trains while keeping rail service operating through construction expected to continue into 2028.

Dock Bridge lift towers and six-track rail approaches near Newark Penn Station
Dock Bridge and its rail approaches between Newark and Harrison, New Jersey. Photo: Mr. Matté, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Opened in 1935, Dock Bridge is a six-track, triple-span movable lift bridge across the Passaic River between Newark and Harrison. Four tracks are typically used by Amtrak and NJ TRANSIT, while two carry PATH trains. Amtrak’s project information puts traffic across the bridge at 720 trains per day, and its July 28 contract announcement says more than 200,000 daily Amtrak, NJ TRANSIT and PATH customers travel through this section of the Northeast Corridor.

Why the lift mechanism matters for reliability?

Amtrak says the bridge’s age and deteriorating condition can cause delays when tracks, signals and other rail systems fail to align properly. Failures of sensors and other components associated with the movable bridge systems can also disrupt service.

The reliability plan therefore goes beyond structural repairs. A U.S. Coast Guard permit issued in late 2024 authorized conversion of Dock Bridge from a movable bridge to a fixed bridge. The U.S. Department of Transportation said in 2025 that the bridge can become stuck and that the revised rehabilitation scope would place the movable structure in a fixed position while prioritizing safety and reliability work.

The fixed-span conversion involves more than simply stopping bridge openings. Skanska says its scope includes decommissioning the movable spans, removing existing mechanical and electrical systems, jacking the bridge counterweights, installing permanent counterweight supports and rehabilitating concrete piers. Amtrak’s wider project scope also includes steel reinforcement and replacement of track, signal and overhead catenary elements.

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Keeping 720 daily trains moving through the works

Amtrak says rail service will remain in operation during the rehabilitation, making construction staging a central operational challenge on a crossing shared by three passenger operators.

Dock Bridge steel lift towers over the Passaic River in Newark, New Jersey
Dock Bridge over the Passaic River in Newark, New Jersey. Photo: JamesPFisherIII, CC BY 3.0.

The July 28 announcement does not provide a track-by-track staging plan or specify whether temporary track outages or timetable changes will be needed. That means the project can accurately be described as maintaining rail service during construction, but not as disruption-free.

Major work is due to begin by the end of 2026. Skanska expects its rehabilitation package to be completed in late 2028. The overall $242 million project is primarily funded by a $188 million Federal Railroad Administration grant, with Amtrak, NJ TRANSIT and PATH funding the remaining portion.

For passengers and operators, the core change is clear: the project is intended to remove failure-prone movable systems while renewing the bridge infrastructure around an active crossing that carries hundreds of trains every day.

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