(The following story by Judy Rife appeared on the Times Herald-Record website on September 6, 2010.)
NEWARK, N.J. — NJ Transit has applied for $885 million in new federal funding to pay for renewal and replacement of aging components of Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor between Trenton, N.J., and Pennsylvania Station in Manhattan.
The application, made with Amtrak’s blessing, would support the replacement of the Portal Bridge that carries the Northeast Corridor across the Hackensack River before the rail line enters the tunnel beneath the Hudson leading to Penn Station.
The application also seeks to upgrade the line’s power supply and signal system.
If the two agencies successfully win funding from the new High-Speed Intercity Passenger Rail Program, the grant will boost their ongoing effort to replace the 100-year-old swing bridge — a $1.8 billion project.
The bridge, a notorious source of delays leading to the country’s busiest train station, often gets stuck in an open position and occasionally catches fire.
“Portal Bridge’s replacement “» will expand capacity and provide for more efficient rail operations,” said Stephen Gardner, an Amtrak vice president.
NJ Transit has already committed $776 million toward the project and moved it into final design in an aggressive timetable designed to complement its construction of a new commuter rail tunnel to an expanded Penn Station.
The new five-track bridge will serve both the old and new tunnels and will be stationary and high enough to allow ships to pass underneath. Work began on the new tunnel last year. Both it and the new bridge are scheduled for completion in 2017.
NJ Transit now carries about 150,000 customers across the Portal Bridge every day, versus Amtrak’s 30,000.
The new tunnel will double capacity, as well as end transfers at Secaucus Junction for commuters from Orange and Rockland counties in New York and those from North Jersey.