Portal Bridge replacement delays set to disrupt NJ TRANSIT

Portal Bridge replacement delays are set to affect NJ TRANSIT and Amtrak riders across North Jersey for several weeks beginning next month, as crews enter a critical stage of replacing the 115-year-old Portal Bridge, as reported by Railway Supply.

Portal Bridge replacement delays: what’s changing

The nearly $2 billion Portal Bridge project will replace the aging movable span with a taller, modern structure that, officials said, will no longer need to open and close for river traffic.

This is reported by the railway transport news portal Railway Supply.

The service disruptions are tied to the Portal North Bridge cutover, with Amtrak shifting train traffic off the old bridge and onto the long-awaited Portal North Bridge over the Hackensack River in Kearny. During the cutover, one track will be moved from the existing bridge onto the newly constructed span.

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Amtrak said the new Portal North Bridge is designed to eliminate many of the failures associated with the old structure. The bridge will rise more than 50 feet above the river and, including its approaches, spans nearly 2.5 miles of the Northeast Corridor.

Portal North Bridge cutover timeline between Newark and Secaucus

Details in an Amtrak stakeholder briefing released Thursday, Jan. 15, say the cutover will begin in February. The process is expected to temporarily limit trains to a single track between Newark and Secaucus.

A new NJ TRANSIT schedule will take effect Sunday, Feb. 15. Cutover work is expected to be completed Saturday, March 14, with regular service scheduled to resume Sunday, March 15, pending completion of required safety testing, officials said, as outlined on NJ TRANSIT’s Portal Bridge Cutover page.

Why the Portal Bridge is a major bottleneck?

Amtrak said the bridge carries more than 450 daily Amtrak and NJ TRANSIT trains and approximately 200,000 passengers each day, making it one of the busiest and most critical rail links between Newark and New York Penn Station. The two-track, moveable span is a major bottleneck and a frequent source of delays, particularly when the aging bridge malfunctions during openings and closings for maritime traffic.

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