PANYNJ commits to $300-million loan for Portal North Bridge replacement

Written by Mischa Wanek-Libman, editor
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Amtrak

A key project in the Gateway Program, the Portal North Bridge, is moving forward with a financial commitment from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey's (PANYNJ) Board of Commissioners.

 

The board authorized more than $300 million toward a low-cost federal loan for the Portal North Bridge, which is a critical component for trains into and out of New York City. The funds authorized will fund debt service on a $284 million loan and $18 million in loan expenses to pay for the new bridge.

The agreement will cover the principal, interest and related costs of low-interest federal loans obtained by the Gateway Program Development Corporation (GPDC) for a portion of the local share of the estimated $1.5 billion cost of replacing the existing Portal Bridge. PANYNJ will not be responsible for cost overruns of the project. Payments made by PANYNJ to GPDC, to be spread over 35-40 years, will support the repayment of up to $284 million in federal loans from the Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing Program and/or the Transportation Infrastructure Financing Act Program. The GPDC, which is in the process of being incorporated, will be responsible for advancing the Portal North Bridge, along with the Hudson Tunnel Project to create a second rail tunnel between Midtown Manhattan and New Jersey.

The obsolete 106-year-old structure, which spans the Hackensack River, handles 450 New Jersey Transit and Amtrak trains and more than 200,000 passengers each day. The bridge’s frequent mechanical failures interrupt service on the Northeast Corridor, cutting off New York from a vast portion of the nation’s passenger rail network. The planned bridge project already is fully permitted with construction starting as early as 2018, an early part of the overall program of adding a second rail tunnel between New Jersey and Midtown Manhattan.

Earlier this year, PANYNJ authorized $35 million, in addition to $35 million from Amtrak, in funding for critical preliminary engineering work for the Hudson Tunnel Project, which is widely regarded as the nation’s most important infrastructure project.

“The Gateway Program is critical to meeting future trans-Hudson travel needs and supporting the economic vitality of the region and today’s action moves this vital effort forward,” said PANYNJ Board Chairman John Degnan. “This enhanced regional rail network will modernize our transportation system and benefit hundreds of thousands of train passengers every day.”

“This is a critical first step in [PANYNJ’S] commitment to Phase 1 of the Gateway Program, which includes a new Portal Bridge and a new rail tunnel under the Hudson River,” said Vice Chairman Steven M. Cohen. “Today’s commitment represents the single largest funding contribution towards the overall program and it will be followed by substantial federal funding in the months ahead.”

The new bridge is an early element of the Gateway Program’s Phase 1, which also includes the Hudson Tunnel Project and the completion of the Hudson Yards Concrete Casing in Manhattan’s West Side. The entirety of Phase 1 has been accepted into the “New Starts” grants pipeline and is expected to receive billions of dollars in federal funds as a result.

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