RICHMOND, Va. — The cost of a second rail bridge over the Potomac River — a key part of Virginia’s plan for major expansion of Amtrak and commuter-rail service on the I-95 corridor south from Washington, D.C.— has risen substantially, leading to a $389 million shortfall, the Washington Post reports.=
The new two-track Long Bridge across the river, which would parallel an existing two-track bridge, is now estimated to cost almost $2.28 billion, an increase of $239.7 million since a year ago, according to the Virginia Passenger Rail Authority’s draft budget for fiscal 2024. The agency says inflation is responsible for the increase.
The new bridge is part of a project that would create separate but parallel two-track routes for passenger and CSX Transportation freight traffic, under the agreement reached by Virginia and the freight railroad in 2019 [see “Virginia, CSX announce major rail infrastructure plan,” Trains News Wire, Dec. 20, 2019].
The VPRA will begin the lengthy project of selecting construction contractors for the project this spring, a process it aims to complete by the fall, according to DJ Stadtler, the agency’s executive director. It has divided the project in two segments: a northern portion including construction of several bridges from the edge of the Potomac to L’Enfant Plaza, and a southern portion consisting of the Long Bridge itself. Once the contractors are selected, five years of construction will begin in 2025.
The timeframe could be at risk if the agency can’t close an overall funding gap for its rail program now at $712 million, including the portion for the bridge project, the Post reports. The VPRA is seeking federal grants to help deal with that shortfall.
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