The first of three enormous support arches for the $1.7-billion Portal North Bridge recently journeyed 30 hours down the Hudson River to the project's jobsite that spans the Hackensack River in New Jersey. The 2.5-mile, fixed-span crossing, which will replace a 114-year-old swing bridge, is a key component of the $33.7-billion Gateway Program that will double rail capacity between Newark, N.J., and New York City.
Three tugboats, a heavy transport barge and a spacer barge towed the 5 million-lb, 400-ft-long, 50-ft-wide arch an average of roughly 5.75 miles per hour down the Hudson River, beginning at the Port of Coeymans near Albany, N.Y. Two more massive support arches will be barged to the project site by February.
The project is on time and budget through 50% completion, says Kevin S. Corbett, NJ TRANSIT president and CEO.
“The arrival of the first arch at the Portal North Bridge site marks a major milestone in transforming the Northeast Corridor into a more reliable transit route for tens of thousands of daily commuters,” Corbett said in a statement following the arch’s Nov. 26 arrival. “Through this project, NJ TRANSIT is proud to demonstrate that, even in the Northeast—where megaprojects have historically faced delays and cost overruns—it is possible to deliver a transformational project on time and within budget.”
Three tugboats, a heavy transport barge and a spacer barge towed a 5 million-lbs, 400-ft-long, 50-ft-wide arch down the Hudson River in late November.
Photos by Andy Ryan, courtesy of HNTB.
The project’s scope of work includes retaining walls, deep foundations, concrete piers, structural steel bridge spans, rail systems and demolition of the existing bridge. Lead structural engineer HNTB designed the new river bridge and portions of the associated approach spans and retaining walls over the Hackensack River in the New Jersey Meadowlands. The project is being built by a joint venture of Skanska and Traylor Brothers.
Michael Viggiano, executive vice president of Skanska’s East Coast civil operations, said in a statement that the arch’s arrival is "a step forward in delivering a modernized structure that will greatly impact the hundreds of thousands of daily commuters and New Jersey residents who rely on this passageway.”
Chris Traylor, co-president of Traylor Bros. Inc., said, “Complex infrastructure projects of this scale are only successful through strong partnerships capable of overcoming significant challenges.”
New Jersey Transit’s largest construction contract in the agency’s history is being funded by the U.S. Dept. of Transportation, the states of New Jersey and New York, and Amtrak. The Portal North Bridge project is a critical component of the larger Gateway Program, which will eventually double rail capacity between Newark and New York.
“Together, we are transforming the Portal North Bridge into an access point that will provide our rail passengers with a more reliable commute, and our entire region with economic opportunity,” New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) said in a statement. “We are now proudly one step closer to rebuilding our regional infrastructure and assuring that the most important public works project in America continues to move forward.”
