NJ Transit Riders Face Five Weeks of Delays Due to Portal North Bridge Construction
Commuters should prepare for significant disruptions and reroutes through mid-November.
NJ Transit rail riders are encountering another month of significant disruptions as construction intensifies on the Portal North Bridge, a project expected to cause severe delays and service changes through November 15. The work is part of a larger $2.3 billion effort to replace the century-old structure over the Hackensack River.
Commuters on the Morris & Essex, Gladstone Branch, and Montclair-Boonton lines will experience reroutes to Hoboken instead of their usual destination of New York Penn Station. NJ Transit is cross-honoring tickets on its buses and PATH and ferry services in Hoboken. The transit agency is advising riders who have the flexibility to work from home to do so.
Additional service impacts are affecting passengers on the North Jersey Coast, Port Jervis, and Raritan Valley lines, who must rely on bus transportation due to unrelated track and bridge work. Amtrak riders will also see reduced service frequency to New York Penn Station from the south and west.
The only NJ Transit line unaffected by these specific disruptions is the Atlantic City Line, which does not serve Manhattan. Officials state that the new fixed span bridge, unlike the old drawbridge erected in 1910, will eliminate delays caused by needing to open for ship passage.
This bridge replacement is a component of the $17 billion Gateway Project, an infrastructure modernization initiative aimed at improving rail service between Newark and New York City. The project has faced delays and political contention.