Amtrak has selected HNTB for architectural and engineering services for two bridge replacement projects in Maryland: Bush River Bridge and Gunpowder River Bridge.

These bridges span what Amtrak calls a critical section of the Northeast Corridor (NEC) between Baltimore and Wilmington, Del., each carrying over 100 Amtrak, Maryland Area Regional Commuter (MARC) and freight trains per day. Full replacement of both bridges aims to help improve safety and reliability while enabling Amtrak and MARC to add more train service in the future as needed to accommodate record growth.

“Today marks a critical step in the long journey to replace both the Bush River and Gunpowder River Bridges, key to improving the travel experience as record Amtrak ridership is projected to continue growing over the next decade,” said Amtrak Capital Delivery Executive Vice President Laura Mason. “These projects are two important examples of Amtrak’s long-term vision to modernize the Northeast Corridor’s century-old tunnels, bridges and more.”

The Bush and Gunpowder River Bridges serve over 100 trains from Amtrak, MARC and Norfolk Southern every day. Amtrak says this aging infrastructure restricts train speeds, demands constant maintenance and bottlenecks both intercity and commuter services. Adding to the unreliability, Amtrak notes, is the outdated structure of the moveable Bush River Bridge that requires a 20-person crew during summer weekends to open for marine traffic.

“These projects represent an important opportunity to continue our longstanding partnership with Amtrak on infrastructure that is essential to the Northeast Corridor,” said HNTB Project Manager Christian Brown, PE. “Our team looks forward to collaborating to develop solutions that align with Amtrak’s operational goals while supporting reliable service throughout the life of the project.”

Amtrak says that replacing the Bush and Gunpowder River Bridges will address critical state-of-good repair needs and deliver modern, reliable structures featuring several benefits, including:

• Upgrades to track alignment, signal systems and electric traction over a 10-mile stretch of the NEC, expanding track capacity once both projects are constructed.
• Higher speeds of up to 145 miles per hour for Gunpowder River Bridge and 160 for Bush River Bridge—compared with 125 mph today.
• A fixed-span Bush River Bridge structure that better supports marine traffic needs and no longer requires a crew.

Preliminary engineering is on track to conclude in 2029. HNTB has supported Amtrak on several bridge projects along the NEC in the past, including ongoing work for replacement of the Susquehanna River Bridge in Maryland and Portal North Bridge in New Jersey.

“HNTB’s previous and ongoing work with Amtrak on complex bridge programs across the Northeast Corridor provides a strong foundation as we move into design on these projects,” said HNTB Eastern U.S. Rail and Transit Leader Greg May, PE, LEED AP. “Together, we are focused on delivering solutions that align with operational needs, support constructability and provide lasting value to the corridor and the communities it serves.”

Completed in 1913, Gunpowder River Bridge is located between Chase and Joppatowne, Md. To the north is Bush River Bridge, another 113-year-old bridge located between Edgewood and Perryman, Md. Due to their age and deteriorating condition, Amtrak says that the bridges experience reliability issues. When the bridge has failed to close in the past, Amtrak trains between New York, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., face massive delays. In 2019 alone, more than 72 hours of train delays for Amtrak and MARC trains were caused directly by the Bush River Bridge.

Amtrak reports that this step in the planning process is primarily funded by a grant from the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), along with contributions from Amtrak and the Maryland Transit Administration. Both bridges are listed as key priorities on the FRA’s NEC project inventory. Work is currently funded through preliminary engineering and National Environmental Policy Act review. Additional future funding would be required for final design and construction.

Amtrak is advancing several major infrastructure projects. Recent milestones across Amtrak’s portfolio of major bridge projects include:

• Portal North Bridge: Amtrak and New Jersey Transit (NJ Transit) opened the first track on the new bridge earlier this year. The second and final track will open this fall, providing increased reliability to rail customers for generations to come.
• Dock Bridge: Amtrak will soon begin work to rehabilitate this nearly century-old bridge in New Jersey after awarding key construction and project management contracts this summer.
• Sawtooth Bridges: Amtrak and NJ Transit are moving forward with initial construction for the Sawtooth Bridges replacement project. This $133 million Federal-State Partnership grant for “enabling components” is set to support improvements along the NEC, delivering long-term reliability and operational benefits for more than 200,000 daily customers.