EDGEWOOD, Md. — Amtrak has selected infrastructure and architectural design firm HNTB to provide architectural and engineering services for two bridge replacement projects in Maryland, the passenger operator has announced.
The Gunpowder River Bridge and Bush River Bridge are about 7.5 miles apart on the Northeast Corridor between Chase and Aberdeen, Md. Each carries more than 100 Amtrak, MARC, and Norfolk Southern trains per day. Both date to 1913. Amtrak says they are approaching the end of their useful lives, require frequent maintenance, and limit train speeds to 125 mph. The movable Bush River Bridge also requires a 20-person crew to be opened for marine traffic during summer weekends. Its replacement will be a fixed-span structure.
The replacement bridges will allow speeds up to 145 mph on the Gunpowder River Bridge and 160 mph on the Bush River Bridge; the replacement projects also include track, signal, and electric traction infrastructure improvements over a 10-mile segment of the NEC…