NJ Transit’s board of directors voted Dec. 11 to award a $444.4 million contract for the second construction segment of a Raritan River replacement rail bridge to Skanska Koch Inc., an affiliate of by Skanska USA Civil Inc.
The lift bridge that carries the North Jersey Shoreline over the Raritan River between Perth Amboy and South Amboy, NJ, is planned to replace a 116-year-old swing bridge called the River Draw that was damaged during Hurricane Sandy in 2012 and is now subject to According to NJ Transit, the lateral forces of the ocean wave was not designed to withstand.
Carteret, NJ-based Skanska Koch offered the lowest of three bids, records show. The other bidders were MLJ Contracting Corp. and Tutor Perini.
The scope of the contract covers the vertical elevation portion of the two-lane, 34-foot-wide bridge, including the 375-foot-long movable light and flanking lights. It also includes associated work such as signals and overhead catenary.
The new bridge is being built next to the current River Draw. Construction of the 24 approach spans totaling half a mile is already underway through a $247.9 million NJ Transit contract awarded in 2020 to Farmingdale, NJ-based George Harms Construction.
“The new Raritan River Bridge will replace a century-old structure, significantly improving both operational efficiency and our preparedness for extreme weather events,” NJ Transit President and CEO Kevin Corbett said in a statement.
The replacement bridge is designed for greater resilience and is being built with materials that NJ Transit says will be better able to withstand ocean surge and salt water. It is supported on piers 95 feet apart and 84-foot-diameter drilled shafts up to 240 feet deep, according to Gannett Fleming, which helped design the bridge in a joint venture with Hardesty & Hanover.
Construction began in 2020. Photo courtesy of NJ TransitThe piers are being built outside the existing 300-foot-wide navigation channel, so ships will have a wider area than with the existing bridge. The elevator shall provide a minimum vertical clearance of 110 feet.
The North Jersey Coast Line serves about 11,400 passengers daily. The River Draw also serves Conrail freight trains.
The Federal Transit Administration provided a $446 million grant to help finance the project.
NJ Transit plans to later award a final contract covering the demolition of the existing bridge.
