A vital bridge used by Amtrak, NJ Transit and PATH commuters is headed for a $242 million overhaul this year that will eliminate a chronic problem for riders when the lift bridge won’t properly close.

A contract was awarded by Amtrak to overhaul the 91-year-old Dock Bridge between Newark and Harrison, the rail operator said Tuesday.

Skanska was awarded a $242 million contract to rehabilitate the bridge, with work expected to begin by the end of the year, officials said.

Most commuters know Dock Bridge as the massive six-track steel span over the Passaic River next to Penn Station Newark. It carries 720 trains a day, serving Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor, three NJ Transit and PATH World Trade Center lines.

The bridge is used by more than 200,000 daily riders on one of the busiest sections of the Northeast Corridor line, which runs between Boston and Washington, D.C.

The project includes reinforcing the bridge’s steel components and replacing major rail infrastructure, including the overhead catenary system, track, and signal systems to improve service reliability.

But the project’s biggest feature is that the lift bridge will no longer open. Train delays occur when the bridge is closed or when tracks, signals or other infrastructure fail to align properly.

Those problems caused frequent service disruptions when the bridge had to be opened. In late 2024, the U.S. Coast Guard issued a permit to convert Dock Bridge to a fixed bridge.

The bridge’s wooden fender system in the river — which prevents vessels from striking the bridge supports — would also be replaced.

The approximately $242 million project is primarily funded by a $188 million grant from the Federal Railroad Administration. The remaining portion will be funded by NJ Transit, PATH and Amtrak.

Dock Bridge was built in 1935 by the Pennsylvania Railroad.

It’s not the only bridge on the Northeast Corridor that is being worked on or replaced.

Earlier this month, NJ Transit approved an agreement with Amtrak for replacement of the 117-year-old Sawtooth Bridges in Kearny on the Northeast Corridor with three new bridges.

The bridges, named because they resemble saw teeth when viewed from the air, are being replaced as part of the larger Gateway Tunnel project.

Those bridges carry the Northeast Corridor over NJ Transit’s Morris and Essex Lines, Conrail’s Center Street Branch and the PATH Newark-World Trade Center line.

That $133 million project increases train capacity by adding two additional tracks to the Northeast Corridor and allows train speeds to increase to 90 mph.

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