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A joint venture between O&G Industries and Tutor Perini will soon begin laying tracks for Amtrak. $1.3 billion Connecticut River Bridge Replacement project
The passenger rail company announced on June 28 that it had selected the JV to begin construction of a new bridge to replace the current structure, which first entered service in 1907 and does not open or close constantly for maritime traffic on the river. The 1,500-foot-long stretch currently carries more than 50 trains a day.
The project is part of a larger $16 billion push to improve Amtrak Northeast Corridor infrastructure including the construction of a new two-track rail tunnel under the Hudson River between northern New Jersey and Manhattan and the Frederick Douglass Tunnel in Baltimoreamong other projects.
Amtrak chose Torrington, Conn.-based O&G and Los Angeles-based Tutor Perini to build the new bridge between Old Saybrook and Old Lyme, Conn., roughly halfway between New York City and Providence, Rhode Island. Tutor Perini said he was bidding about the project last August during a call for results.
The new drawbridge will be located immediately south of the existing drawbridge, Amtrak said, and will feature modern track, signal, catenary, power, communications and other supporting rail infrastructure.
The new section, for which the design has already been completed, will accommodate a maximum operating speed of 70 mph, a 55% increase from the current maximum of 45 mph. The vertical clearance will also be improved for marine traffic to pass underneath.
The project has been structured through a design-bid-build contract. Amtrak previously awarded Dallas-based AECOM a construction management contract to assist with contractor management, document control, budget planning and oversight, and community outreach about construction.
The roughly $1.3 billion project is funded primarily by the Jobs and Infrastructure Investments Act of 2021 and an $827 million federal grant from the Federal Railroad Administration. The remaining portion will be funded by Amtrak and Connecticut.
Construction will begin in late summer or early fall, Amtrak said. In its own press release, Tutor Perini said it was a 30% partner in the joint venture. Anticipated ssubstantial completion of the project in 2031.
