OLD LYME, Conn. — Amtrak CEO Stephen Gardner and U.S. Department of Transportation Deputy Secretary Polly Trottenberg were joined by state and local officials on Thursday to celebrate the beginning of construction on Amtrak’s new Connecticut River Bridge.
The new bridge will connect Old Saybrook and Old Lyme and should be completed by 2031.
“Amtrak is thrilled to join our partners to break ground on the new Connecticut River Bridge, a project decades in the making,” Gardner said in an Amtrak release. “When completed, this modern bridge will improve the customer experience by eliminating delays, providing faster journeys and modernizing another critical infrastructure asset in Connecticut that benefits the entire Northeast Corridor."
The current Connecticut River Bridge was completed in 1907 and opens for maritime traffic multiple times a day in peak boating season, Amtrak said. Each day, the bridge serves more than 50 Amtrak Northeast Regional and Acela trains, CTrail Shore Line East commuter service trains and freight trains.
Amtrak says that the aging bridge’s inability to open and close on a consistent basis can result in delays to both rail and maritime traffic.
The new, movable bridge will be more modern and resilient. It will include a trunnion bascule span design with modern track, signal, catenary, power, communication and other supporting rail infrastructure, according to Amtrak. The bridge will support a maximum train operating speed of 70 mph, which is a 55% increase from the current maximum speed of 45 mph.
It is expected that maritime navigation and safety will also improve because of the increased vertical clearance of the new bridge compared to that of the current one.
Amtrak says the investment will allow for continued connectivity along the Northeast Corridor, which is America’s most active passenger rail corridor. The completed project will also enable plans to expand intercity passenger rail service in the region and across the country.
In recent months, Amtrak awarded a construction project for the new bridge and held a pre-construction meeting to inform community members about the upcoming work. Amtrak says rail traffic will remain in service throughout the project.
Overall, the project will cost $1.3 billion. It is supported by a $826.64 million Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail grant from the Federal Railroad Administration, which was made possible by the Biden-Harris Administration’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Amtrak and the state of Connecticut will fund the remaining portion.
“Today’s milestone would not be possible without funding from the Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act and continued support from the Biden-Harris Administration along with Connecticut’s champions of rail in Gov. Lamont, Sen. [Richard] Blumenthal, Sen. [Chris] Murphy, Congressman [Joe] Courtney, [Transportation] Commissioner [Garrett] Eucalitto and so many others,” Gardner said.
Trottenberg thanked the Biden-Harris Administration as well and called the project the largest investment in passenger rail since Amtrak was founded. She says she will be happy to see the old bridge replaced by a safer, more reliable structure.
“This bridge is a critical point for freight and passenger rail and maritime traffic along the Northeast, and the new bridge will deliver the faster, more reliable service Americans deserve,” Trottenberg said.
Lamont described the Northeast Corridor as the nation’s busiest rail line and said improvements mean more jobs, continued economic growth and improved quality of life.
“The Connecticut River Bridge is more than 100 years old, and this major modernization project will ensure that trains can operate with higher speeds and fewer disruptions well into the future. President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law continues delivering for Connecticut and the entire region,” Lamont said.
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Dalton Zbierski is a digital content producer and writer at FOX61 News. He can be reached at dzbierski@FOX61.com.
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