Amtrack selected Skanska and Walsh & Herzog as a joint venture to conduct pre-construction activities for the Sawtooth Bridges Replacement Project. 

In addition, the joint venture will receive future contract opportunities for the project’s full construction.

This important state-of-good-repair investment will construct multiple bridge structures with four tracks, replacing the existing bridges and significantly enhancing capacity, reliability, and speed along the most heavily traveled segment of the Northeast Corridor (NEC).

“Today’s milestone marks an important step for this extremely complex and critical investment that will improve commuter and intercity passenger rail in the busiest section of the NEC,” said Laura Manson, Amtrak’s executive VP, capital delivery. “Amtrak is making strides to address decades of underinvestment as we rebuild America’s Railroad for the next generation. We thank our partners at NJ TRANSIT, PATH and Conrail, as well as elected officials from across the region for supporting this project that advances our common goal of enhancing and expanding rail service in New Jersey, New York, and beyond.”

Additional Contract Awards

Amtrak also awarded a project and construction management contract to a joint venture of AECOM and STV for pre-construction support services during the project’s final design phase, and to perform construction management for the construction phase. 

The team will work closely with the Skanska, Walsh, & Herzog joint venture and Amtrak’s in-house capital delivery department.

The Sawtooth Bridges were originally constructed in 1907 and serve as a critical link in the NEC, supporting more than 400 daily trains operated by Amtrak, NJ Transit over tracks used by NJ Transit, PATH, and Conrail freight trains. Their age and structural deficiencies limit train speeds and create bottlenecks that impact rail operations for intercity and commuter services.

The investment will address critical state-of-good-repair needs by replacing the aging Sawtooth Bridges with modern, reliable structures, double the track capacity, restore the 90 mph maximum speed limit, enhance reliability, and meet growing demands.

The project will construct three new bridges along a 1.9 mile corridor in Kearny, New Jersey, between Newark Penn Station, and Secaucus Junction.

Construction Plan

Construction of the new bridges is being delivered through the innovative Construction Manager At-Risk delivery method, which improves project delivery time and allows design, pre-construction, and other work to proceed simultaneously. 

The nearly two-mile project corridor presents unique challenges as a congested area with limited access points and space that require extensive coordination with NJ Transit, PATH, Conrail, and third-party utilities.

The 115-year-old Sawtooth Bridges have surpassed their design life, limiting efficiency and reliability on this segment of the NEC, the busiest rail line in the U.S.

The project is highly rated on the Federal Railroad Administration’s (FRA) NEC Project Inventory, and has been awarded multiple grants through FRA’s Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail Program to support project development, final design and construction of early-action, critical path activities. Amtrak is contributing the non-local match to these grants.

Amtrak continues to transform rail and provide a high-quality experience serving 3.28 million customers and investing $4.5 billion into major infrastructure and fleet projects in Fiscal Year 2024.