Amtrak has awarded a key contract to the Flatiron/Herzog Joint Venture for the Susquehanna River Rail Bridge Replacement Program, alongside two supporting contracts to an AECOM-led team and Fay Construction.
The Flatiron/Herzog Joint Venture has been selected as the Construction Manager at Risk (CMAR) contractor for constructing two new bridges, as well as the associated track work.
Meanwhile, an AECOM-led team has been awarded a construction management contract to support the completion of the project’s final design and to perform construction management for the bridge construction phase. This team will be fully integrated with Flatiron/Herzog.
Fay Construction has also been selected to demolish and remove 10 remnant piers from an 1866 railroad bridge east of the existing bridge. This work will begin in early 2024 and will take place over a year.
These announcements follow a year-long competitive procurement process to advance the replacement of the current 117-year-old Susquehanna River Rail Bridge.
“With the award of these contracts, we are one step closer to breaking ground on this crucial project that will unlock a significant bottleneck on the Northeast Corridor, reduce trip times and improve reliability for passenger and freight travel across the northeast.
“We appreciate the Biden-Harris Administration and FRA for the historic funding that has enabled this project to advance, as well as our funding partners at Maryland Department of Transportation Maryland Transit Administration (MDOT MTA) for their support.”
Recently, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) announced 2.08 billion USD in grant funding to support the Susquehanna River Rail Bridge Replacement Program as part of more than 16.4 billion USD of federal investment across the Northeast Corridor (NEC).
The project will construct two two-track fixed bridges to replace the existing two-track moveable bridge. It will also involve overhead power, signal, safety and security system modernisation works to improve efficiency on the NEC.
The Susquehanna River Rail Bridge is the longest moveable bridge on the NEC. It is used by Amtrak, Maryland Area Regional Commuter (MARC) rail and Norfolk Southern, supporting more than 110 passenger and freight trains daily.
Currently, trains have to slow to a speed of 90 mph when crossing the bridge, which causes capacity and reliability constraints.
“The Susquehanna River Bridge is vital to the Northeast Corridor and the Nation, and the Federal Railroad Administration is pleased to see progress to replace the current 117-year-old bridge.
“Through President Biden’s Investing in America agenda and with funds in his Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we’re finally replacing and repairing ageing bridges and tunnels and modernising infrastructure of national significance on America’s busiest rail corridor, and we’re advancing projects nationwide that will help deliver world-class passenger rail to more Americans.”
Final design work is currently underway for the two new bridges. Design completion is expected by the end of 2024 and construction is scheduled to begin in 2025.
