NJ Transit awarded the second construction contract of the new Raritan River Bridge on the North Jersey Coast Line (NJCL), which encompasses the lift portion of the bridge.
The construction contract was awarded to Skanska Koch Inc of Carteret, New Jersey in the amount not to exceed USD 444.4 million plus 5% for contingencies for the construction of the lift bridge and flanking spans, communication, signals, overhead catenary and other associated site work.
The new bridge, which spans the Raritan River between Perth Amboy and South Amboy, will have a centre span that lifts vertically to allow for marine traffic to pass underneath and will replace the current 116-year-old swing bridge, which spins open.
The replacement bridge will be a vertical lift bridge providing a new two-track movable span across the Raritan River, slightly offset from the original alignment, and linking back to the existing North Jersey Coast mainline tracks at its northern and southern ends.
The existing Raritan River Bridge is a movable swing-span bridge. The bridge is the sole rail link for 17 of the 20 NJCL stations to connect to Newark and Manhattan, situated between the Perth Amboy and South Amboy rail stations. The NJCL provides service to approximately 11,400 daily customers making approximately 22,800 average weekday passenger trips and accommodates Conrail freight rail services.
“The Board authorisation advances one of NJ Transit’s most critical resiliency projects, ensuring a more reliable and robust rail link for thousands of daily customers on the North Jersey Coast Line. The new Raritan River Bridge will replace a century-old structure, significantly enhancing both operational efficiency and our preparedness for extreme weather events,” the CEO of NJ Transit Kevin S. Corbett said.
The current bridge has been in service since 1908 and was not designed to withstand the lateral forces due to ocean surges. Consequently, while currently still safe for train travel, the bridge suffered significant damage during Superstorm Sandy, including movement of the bridge deck out of its normal alignment due to ocean surges against the bridge superstructure and the impact of large, wave-borne debris bearing against the bridge girders.
After the storm passed, inspections revealed the damage, and train services and marine vessel operations were suspended until repairs could be made, resulting in no train service for a period of three weeks. Through these events, Superstorm Sandy demonstrated the vulnerability of the bridge to extreme weather events.
Under a separate authorisation, NJ Transit repaired the supporting piers of the current bridge to allow its continued use while a new bridge was designed and built.
The approaches to the new bridge are currently under construction in a separate contract awarded in June 2020. The overall replacement project is being funded in part through a more than USD 446-million grant from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA).
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