KEARNY, N.J. — The cutover of traffic to the new Portal North Bridge on the Northeast Corridor in early 2026 could disrupt Amtrak and NJ Transit traffic for up to six weeks, according to NorthJersey.com.
Some trains could be canceled or rerouted during that period. NJ Transit CEO Kris Kolluri said plans are being finalized and will be announced at some point in December.
“The Portal Bridge project is moving at a good pace,” Kolluri told the news site, “and there will be some changes coming from a construction standpoint that will require some schedule changes.” Mayors and other elected officials will be briefed on those plans beforehand, he said.
The new bridge is at a location that sees more than 450 trains a day, with some 200,000 passengers, according to Amtrak. It crosses the Hackensack River between Kearny and Secaucus, N.J., and will be a two-track, fixed-span bridge, providing some 50 feet of clearance for river traffic below. With the approaches needed to reach that height, the entire project extends almost 2.5 miles. It will replace a swing-span bridge that opened in November 1910 and has become notorious for malfunctions leading to major train delays — particularly when the bridge sometimes will not lock back into place when closing, requiring workers to physically hammer it shut.
Groundbreaking on what was then described as a $1.8 billion project was held in August 2022 [see “Groundbreaking marks start of work …,” Trains.com, Aug. 2, 2022]. NorthJersey.com now places the cost at $2.3 billion. Amtrak’s most recent project update says it is due for completion in 2027.
— To report news or errors, contact trainsnewswire@firecrown.com.
So how is it that the cutover takes place over a year before project completion?
I dunno. Maybe removal of old bridge counts as completion, and restoration of the old r/w. Planting trees and such.