Sawtooth Bridges

The Sawtooth Bridges are a pair of railroad bridges on the Northeast Corridor (NEC) known individually as Amtrak Bridge No. 7.80 and Amtrak Bridge No. 7.96. They are located in the Meadowlands in Kearny, New Jersey between Newark Penn Station and Secaucus Junction at a stretch where the rights-of-way of Amtrak, NJ Tranist, PATH, and Conrail converge and re-align. The name refers to their appearance and the numbers refer to the milepoint (MP) from New York Penn Station. Originally built by Pennsylvania Railroad, they are owned and operated by Amtrak. They are slated for replacement as part of the Gateway Program, an infrastructure improvement program along the NEC.

Sawtooth Bridges
Looking west towards Newark
Coordinates40°44′38″N 74°7′30″W
CarriesNortheast Corridor
CrossesNJ Tranist, PATH, Conrail
LocaleNew Jersey Meadowlands
Kearny, New Jersey
Other name(s)Amtrak Bridge No. 7.80
Amtrak Bridge No. 7.96
OwnerAmtrak
Heritage statusPRR
Characteristics
DesignViaduct
Total length961 ft (293 m)
History
Construction start1907
Inaugurated1910
Location
References
[1]

History
New York Tunnel Extension, 1912
Newark/Hoboken Division approaches
Northeast Corridor
to Boston
&
LIRR Main Line
to Greenport
Sunnyside Yard
East River Tunnels under East River
 New York Penn Station
North River Tunnels under Hudson River
NY
NJ
 Hoboken Terminal
Hoboken Yard
Bergen Tunnels under Bergen Hill
 Secaucus Junction│
MAIN BCL PVL
Boonton Line to Hackettstown
Portal Bridge│Lower Hack Lift
over Hackensack River
Kearny
Connection
│
 
Sawtooth
Kearny
Connection
│
Bridges
Sawtooth
│
Waterfront
Connection
Newark Drawbridge│Dock Bridge
over Passaic River
 Newark Broad Street
Newark Penn Station
GLAD MOBO M&E
Hunter Connection
CNJ to Communipaw Terminal
 Elizabeth
(NJT)
 Elizabeth
(CNJ)
RVL to High Bridge│Aldene Connection
Elizabeth River
Rahway River Bridge
UNION interlocking│NJCL to Bay Head
Northeast Corridor & NEC
to Trenton
Newark Division
Hoboken Division

The viaducts were built in 1907 by the Pennsylvania Railroad as part of its New York Tunnel Extension project, which included the Portal Bridge and the North River Tunnels. The bridges are east of the former Manhattan Transfer station.

Junctions and interlockings

At this stretch of the Northeast Corridor, the rights-of-way of Amtrak, NJ Transit, PATH, and Conrail converge, run parallel, and re-align. Amtrak Bridge No. 7.80 carries two NEC tracks over four NJ Transit commuter rail tracks used by the Montclair-Boonton Line, the Morristown Line and the Gladstone Branch. Amtrak Bridge No. 7.96 carries the two NEC tracks over one track of PATH's Newark–World Trade Center line and the single track Conrail (CRCX) Center Street Branch freight rail line.[2] There is no junction with PATH.[1]

East of the bridges at "Swift Interlocking" (MP 7.2) it is possible for NJ Transit Midtown Direct trains on the Morris and Essex Lines and Montclair-Boonton Line to enter (via Track 5) and leave the Northeast Corridor.[3] "Hudson Interlocking" (MP8.3) and the single track limited-use NJ Transit "Red Bridge", part of the Waterfront Connection, allows trains access to the NEC when travelling to or from Newark Penn in the west. It is generally used by NJ Transit's North Jersey Coast Line or Raritan Valley Line trains access to Hoboken Terminal on the Hudson Waterfront.[4]

Replacement and expansion to four tracks

The Sawtooth Bridges, considered a part of major bottleneck in the busiest section of the Northeast Corridor, are slated for replacement as part of the Gateway Program, an infrastructure improvement program along 10 miles of the rail line between Newark and New York.[5][6] The plans call for expansion of the right-of-way to four tracks and would also include the construction of new bridges in the Kearny Meadows over Newark Turnpike and Belleville Turnpike.[7] Initial stages of replacement of the nearby Portal Bridge over the Hackensack River began in 2019.

In March 2020, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) issued an environmental assessment.[8] Construction would involve the building of a new bridge (Sawtooth Bridge North), where service would be transferred during the demolition of existing Sawtooth Bridge south and building of its replacement. The project will also build new viaduct for NJ Transit Track 5.[9] As of 2020, the projected year for completion was 2029.[10]

See also

References
  1. "Amtrak Sawtooth Bridges Replacement Project". Federal Railroad Agency. March 4, 2020. Retrieved May 2, 2020.
  2. "Case Studies: Sawtooth Bridges Replacement Project". Calladum Group. Retrieved May 6, 2020.
  3. Hanley, Robert (May 1, 1991). "New Jersey to Add Trains to Midtown". New York Times. Retrieved May 2, 2020.
  4. Hanley, Robert (September 10, 1991). "Hoboken-Newark Rail Link Opens as Part of Multimillion-Dollar Expansion". New York Times. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  5. "The Future of Passenger Rail: What's Next for the Northeast Corridor? : Hearing Before the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, United States Senate, One Hundred Thirteenth Congress, First Session, April 17, 2013". U.S. Government Printing Office. 2014. Retrieved May 7, 2020.
  6. "NY-NJ Gateway Project: Critical Fixes, Big Builds". www.enr.com. Retrieved May 2, 2020.
  7. "NEC INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS OF RELEVANCE TO NEW JERSEY" (PDF). ARP. January 2013. Retrieved May 2, 2020.
  8. Hutter, David (March 5, 2020). "FRA issues environmental assessment for Sawtooth Bridge replacement project". Retrieved May 2, 2020.
  9. Wanek-Libman, Mischa (March 6, 2020). "FRA publishes Environmental Assessment of Northeast Corridor's Sawtooth Bridges project". Mass Transit Magazine. Retrieved March 2, 2020.
  10. "Gateway Component: Sawtooth Bridge". Northeast Corridor Commission. Retrieved May 2, 2020.
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