More than a century after it opened, the primary rail link between New Jersey and New York City is finally getting its first full replacement.
As of this week, crews are in the final stretch of the Portal North Bridge Cutover, a high-stakes engineering feat that is moving rail traffic off the aging 1910 swing bridge and onto a shiny, modern replacement.
Since mid-February, more than 40,000 work-hours have been poured into this transition, with teams working 24/7 to connect the first of two new tracks to the busiest rail corridor in the country, the Northeast Corridor between Newark and New York Penn Station.
Why commuters are celebrating (finally)
If you’ve ever had your morning commute ruined because a bridge from the early 1900s wouldn’t close properly, you know why this matters…