Portal Bridge

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Portal Bridge
Carries Northeast Corridor
Crosses Hackensack River
Locale New Jersey Meadowlands
Owner Amtrak
Design Warren truss swing bridge
Material Bessemer steel
Total length 961 ft (293 m)
Number of spans 6 deck girder + 1 swing span
Clearance below 23 ft (7.0 m)
Constructed by Pennsylvania Steel Company
Inaugurated 1910
Coordinates 40°45′13″N 74°5′41″W / 40.75361°N 74.09472°W / 40.75361; -74.09472Coordinates: 40°45′13″N 74°5′41″W / 40.75361°N 74.09472°W / 40.75361; -74.09472
Portal Bridge is located in New York City
Portal Bridge

The Portal Bridge is a rail bridge over the Hackensack River just west of Secaucus Junction in northeastern New Jersey, USA. The two-track, moveable swing-span between the towns of Kearny and Secaucus is owned and operated by Amtrak. It originally was built by the Pennsylvania Railroad and opened in 1910 in conjunction with service to the newly constructed Pennsylvania Station in New York City. The 100-year-old bridge is obsolete, limiting train speeds, and is so low that it often has to be opened to allow commercial boats to pass underneath, causing more delays. Work to replace the bridge is underway.

Contents

[edit] Operation

The center-bearing swing bridge is 961 ft (293 m) long and sits on a turntable and requires millions of dollars of yearly maintenance.[1][2] Some of the bridge machinery was updated in 1931. Minor repairs were made in the 1970s, and major repairs to mechanical and electrical equipment were done in the 1990s.[3]

As of 2011, Amtrak operated some 103 scheduled trains in both directions over this segment of the Northeast Corridor between Newark Penn Station and New York Penn Station. Four of NJ Transit’s rail lines (Northeast Corridor Line, North Jersey Coast Line, Morris and Essex Lines, Montclair-Boonton Line) with 393 trains each weekday in both directions use the bridge.

According to New Jersey Transit Executive Director Richard Sarles, the bridge is considered a "chokepoint" which reduces the potential speed and capacity of the line.[4][5] The bridge's lowest beams are just 23 ft (7 m) above the surface of the river, necessitating that the bridge be opened almost daily for commercial boat traffic, and causing considerable train delays. Drawbridge schedules allow for Portal Draw to be exempt for opening weekdays 6 am to 10 am, and 4 pm to 8 pm (during peak commuter travel periods over the bridge). The bridge opens on signal at other times.[6]

[edit] Derailment

The bridge was site of a derailment in November 1996. Amtrak's Fast Mail Train No. 12, with twelve passenger and mail coaches pulled by two locomotives on a Washington-to-Boston run with 88 passengers and 20 crew members, derailed as it reached the bridge. It sideswiped an oncoming passenger train, but continued across the bridge, prevented from plunging through the trestles into the river by guide rails that parallel the main tracks. Then its twin locomotives, a baggage car, and three passenger coaches plunged over an embankment. There were no deaths; thirty four people were hospitalized.[7]

[edit] Replacement

In December 2008, the Federal Railroad Administration approved a $1.34 billion project to replace the Portal Bridge with two new bridges—a three-track bridge to the north, and a two-track bridge to the south. The new bridges are scheduled to be completed in 2017, at which time the Portal Bridge will be dismantled. In 2009, New Jersey applied for $38.5 million in funding for the replacement from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.[8] On January 28, 2010, the federal funds were released as a TIGER grant.[9] The funds will go toward final design for the new bridge.[10][11][12]

Construction of the new bridge was scheduled to begin in 2010, with the complete bridge replacement to be complete by 2017.[13] As of 2011, construction has not started due to lack of complete funding for the project. Amtrak announced its intention to build a small segment of a high speed rail corridor, of which the bridge is part, called the Gateway Project, estimated to cost $13.5 billion.[14][15][16] In April 2011, Amtrak applied for federal funding of $570 million for construction, with New Jersey expected to commit $150 million.[17] [18]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Belsen, Ken (2008-12-31). "Approval Given for New Jersey Rail Bridges". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/01/nyregion/01bridge.html. Retrieved 2011-02-08. 
  2. ^ McGeehan, Patrick (2005-05-19). "Repairing Rail Bridge in Kearny May Take a Year, Amtrak Says". New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9806E0DD1739F93AA25756C0A9639C8B63&scp=13&sq=portal%20bridge&st=cse. 
  3. ^ Portal Bridge Capacity Enhancement Project, New York, NY (2008). "Chapter 5.2: Historic Resources." Final Environmental Impact Statement and Final Section 4(f ) Evaluation. p. 5.2-7.
  4. ^ http://www.philly.com/philly/news/breaking/20090825_NJ_moves_to_replace_key_N_E__Corridor_rail_bridge.html
  5. ^ McGeehan, Patrick (2005-05-19). "Repairing New Jersey Bridge May Take a Year, Amtrak Says". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/19/nyregion/19bridge.html?scp=22&sq=Amtrak+new+jersey&st=nyt. 
  6. ^ U.S. Coast Guard. "Drawbridge Operation Rregulations: Hackensack River." Code of Federal Regulations, 33 C.F.R. 117.723.
  7. ^ McFadden, Robert D (November 25, 1996). "Broken Bars on Drawbridge Are Blamed in Amtrak Crash". The New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F04E1DB133DF936A15752C1A960958260&fta=y&&scp=8&sq=Portal%20Bridge%20hackensack&st=cse. Retrieved 2011-02-09. 
  8. ^ Tri-State Transportation Campaign, New York, NY (2009-01-08). "Feds Open 'Portal' to Expansion of NJ Transit's Network."
  9. ^ "High-Speed Intercity Passenger Rail (HSIPR) Program". http://www.dot.gov/recovery/docs/hsiprapplist.pdf. Retrieved 2011-02-10. 
  10. ^ Frassinelli, Mike (2010-01-28). "NJ Transit announces $38.5M for Portal Bridge project, names executive director". The Star-Ledger. http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/01/nj_transit_board_announces_385.html. Retrieved 2011-02-08. 
  11. ^ "Portal Bridge Capacity Enhancement". Amtrak, New Jersey Transit, U.S Department of Transportation. http://www.portalbridgenec.com. Retrieved 2011-02-08. 
  12. ^ Whiten, Jon (2010-02-08). "Advocates Want Bike/Ped Path as Part of Portal Bridge Project". Jersey City Independent. http://www.jerseycityindependent.com/2010/02/08/advocates-want-bikeped-path-as-part-of-portal-bridge-project/. Retrieved 2011-02-08. 
  13. ^ "AECOM JV Bags US$18 Mln Contract For New Jersey's Portal Bridge Replacement Project - Quick Facts". RTT News. January 5, 2010. http://www.rttnews.com/Content/QuickFacts.aspx?Node=B1&Id=1170705%20&Category=Quick%20Facts. Retrieved 11 January 2010. 
  14. ^ Frassinelli, MIke (February 6, 2011). "N.J. senators, Amtrak official to announce new commuter train tunnel project across the Hudson". The Star-Ledger. http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2011/02/nj_senators_to_announce_new_co.html. Retrieved 2011-02-07. 
  15. ^ "Gateway Project" (PDF). Amtrak. February 2011. http://lautenberg.senate.gov/assets/Gateway.pdf. Retrieved 2011-02-07. 
  16. ^ Fleisher, Liza; Grossman, Andrew (February 8, 2011), "Amtrak's Plan For New Tunnel Gains Support", The Wall Street Journal, http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704422204576130673174593178.html, retrieved 2011-02-08 
  17. ^ "Amtrak Seeks $1.3 billion for Gateway Project and Next-Generation High-Speed Rail on NEC". Amtrak. April 4, 2011. http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/BlobServer?blobcol=urldata&blobtable=MungoBlobs&blobkey=id&blobwhere=1249224538367&blobheader=application%2Fpdf&blobhead. Retrieved 2011-04-08. 
  18. ^ Jackson, Herb (April 4, 2011), "Amtrak seeking $1.3B for Hudson River tunnel planning, bridge replacement", The Record, http://www.northjersey.com/news/state/040411_Amtrak_seeking_13B_for_Hudson_River_tunnel_planning_bridge_replacement.html, retrieved 201-04-10 

[edit] External links

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