NJ TRANSIT and Amtrak are replacing the century-old Portal Bridge over the Hackensack River in New Jersey with a higher bridge that will not have to open and close for river traffic.
The existing Portal Bridge was built by the Pennsylvania Railroad and entered revenue service in November 1910. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the bridge carried more than 450 daily Amtrak and NJ TRANSIT trains and 200,000 daily passengers over the Hackensack River – a critical link in the congested territory between Newark, New Jersey and Penn Station, New York. This two-track, moveable swing span is a major bottleneck and source of delays, particularly when the aging bridge malfunctions during opening and closing for maritime traffic.
A two-track replacement bridge – Portal North – will replace this outdated relic with a modern, high-level fixed span that does not open or close, eliminating the movable components and risk of malfunction. The new bridge will rise 50-feet over the river and, including the approaches, span nearly 2.5 miles of the Northeast Corridor. Portal North Bridge is an important element of the broader Gateway Program that will eventually double rail capacity between Newark and New York.
