Conrail opens new rail bridge over Passaic River

Conrail on Monday held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new Point-No-Point Bridge that connects freight-rail operations between the cities of Kearny and Newark, New Jersey, across the Passaic River. 

The new movable single-leaf bascule bridge is capable of opening and closing within 10 minutes, as opposed to the predecessor swing span, which required over five hours to open for marine traffic. The new structure replaced one constructed by the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1901.

The new bridge is owned by Conrail as a part of its North Jersey operating district and carries the P&H Line used by Conrail, CSX and Norfolk Southern Railway. The $200 million project began in July 2022 and was funded by Conrail and over $78 million of combined grants issued by the New Jersey Department of Transportation and Federal Railroad Administration.

"With two-thirds of all freight-rail traffic in North Jersey crossing this span, the Point-No-Point Bridge is a critical link in our country’s supply chain,” said Conrail President and Chief Operating Officer Brian Gorton in a press release.

To avoid disruption to train traffic during construction, a new alignment was selected for the bridge, which resulted in the replacement of a second bridge over Port Authority Trans-Hudson’s commuter railroad to reduce service disruption in the region.

The overall improvements will modernize Conrail’s infrastructure and streamline operations for the 40-plus freight trains that cross the river each day, Conrail officials said.