Amtrak will begin major work in the coming months to rehabilitate the nearly century-old Dock Bridge in New Jersey after awarding Skanska the design-bid-build contract and LiRo-Hill the project management contract. Skanska will perform the bridge rehabilitation work, and LiRo-Hill will provide project oversight and support throughout construction, embedded within Amtrak’s in-house Capital Delivery Department.

The project will improve safety and reliability for more than 200,000 daily Amtrak, New Jersey Transit (NJ Transit) and Port-Authority Trans-Hudson (PATH) customers traveling on over 700 trains through one of the busiest sections of the Northeast Corridor (NEC). The approximately $242 million project is primarily funded by a $188 million grant from the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA). The remaining portion will be funded by NJ Transit, PATH and Amtrak.

“Dock Bridge is one of the most heavily used rail bridges in the United States and a critical link connecting New Jersey, New York and the entire Northeast Corridor," said Amtrak President Roger Harris. "This investment is one important example of several Amtrak and partner projects helping to modernize and strengthen the Northeast Corridor, thanks to strong support from the Federal Railroad Administration.”

Opened in 1935, Dock Bridge is a six-track, triple-span moveable lift bridge crossing the Passaic River between Newark and Harrison, N.J. Four tracks are typically used by Amtrak and NJ Transit trains while the remaining two are used by PATH.

Amtrak notes that due to its age and deteriorating condition, the bridge has experienced reliability issues, including delays following tracks, signals and other critical rail systems fail to align properly, as well as frequent service disruptions caused by failures of sensors and other components associated with the movable bridge systems.

“Rehabilitating the Dock Bridge is long overdue, and thanks to the leadership of President [Donald] Trump and [U.S. Department of] Transportation Secretary [Sean] Duffy, we are finally able to upgrade this aging, critical link on one of the busiest sections of the Northeast Corridor," said FRA Administrator David Fink. 

According to Amtrak, the project includes critical safety and reliability elements that will strengthen and reinforce the bridge’s steel components while also replacing major rail infrastructure, including elements of the overhead catenary system, track and signal systems to improve service reliability for decades to come. The company says that converting the bridge from a moveable to fixed span will save millions of dollars in annual maintenance expenses, minimizing the risk of more costly repairs in the future. It is also expected to improve travel times for intercity and commuter rail passengers and enhance worker safety by upgrading access to the bridge.

“This is another investment in the improvement of Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor to enhance reliability, improve long-term performance and help ensure the safe and efficient movement of trains through one of the busiest sections of the rail network that sees more than 90,000 New Jersey customers using this critical infrastructure every day," said NJ Transit President and CEO Kris Kolluri. "This capital investment continues to advance Gov. [Mikie] Sherrill’s long-term vision while building on the short term improvements in the customer experience as part of her rapid action plan. We thank our partners at Amtrak for moving this critical infrastructure project forward.”

Amtrak has a goal to double annual ridership to 66 million by fiscal year 2040. As part of that goal, Amtrak is: 

• Investing roughly $5.5 billion in Amtrak’s largest ever annual capital program to modernize trains, enhance stations, tunnels and bridges and upgrade critical infrastructure, including the Frederick Douglass Tunnel Program and East River Tunnel Rehab Project.  

• Continuing construction for major Northeast Corridor projects, including the Portal North Bridge, the Hudson Tunnel Projects and advancing Sawtooth Bridges Replacement and Dock Bridge Rehab projects. 

• Advancing megaprojects, including the Chicago Hub Improvement Program, New York Penn Station Expansion and Washington Union Station Redevelopment. Amtrak is also supporting partners to improve future service, including Penn Station Access in New York, the Long Bridge Project in Virginia and Compass Rail in Massachusetts.