BALTIMORE — Amtrak says it's planning to replace a 116-year-old rail bridge along the northeast corridor of the Susquehanna River.
About 110 trains use the bridge daily, including Amtrak, MARC, and Norfolk Southern.
The current bridge is moveable and consists of two tracks, but has capacity limitations which requires trains to slow down when crossing.
To speed up and enhance travel, two new fixed bridges will be built in its place.
Five additional miles of track realignment and construction is also expected to be completed as part of the project.
Total cost of construction is estimated to be at least $1.5 billion. Some of that will be funded by the recent infrastructure bill passed by the U.S. congress, while the state has committed $3 million so far towards the design.
Contracts for the project will be awarded sometime in 2023.
As the longest moveable bridge on the Northeast Corridor, the Susquehanna River Rail Bridge is used by Amtrak, Maryland Area Regional Commuter (MARC) rail and Norfolk Southern to support more than 110 passenger and freight trains daily.
Currently, crossing the bridge requires trains to slow to a speed of 90 mph, resulting in capacity and reliability constraints. To resolve this issue, two newly constructed two-track fixed bridges will replace the existing two-track movable bridge,
- Construction Manager at Risk (CMAR) for the construction of the new bridges and
- Design-Bid-Build (DBB) contract for enabling works.
Amtrak, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and MDOT MTA plan to award both contracts in 2023.
