Pelham Bay Bridge

The Pelham Bay Bridge, also known as the Amtrak Hutchinson River Bridge, is a two-track movable railroad bridge that carries the Northeast Corridor (NEC) over the Hutchinson River in the Bronx, New York, upstream from the vehicular/pedestrian Pelham Bridge. It is owned by Amtrak, which provides passenger service, and is used by CSX Transportation and the Providence & Worcester Railroad for freight traffic.

This article is about the railroad bridge. For the nearby road bridge, see Pelham Bridge.

Pelham Bay Bridge
Coordinates40.8634°N 73.8179°W / 40.8634; -73.8179[1]
CrossesHutchinson River
LocaleThe Bronx, New York
Official namePelham Bay Bridge
Maintained byAmtrak
Characteristics
DesignBascule bridge, Warren truss
MaterialConcrete, Steel
Longest span81.7 feet (24.9 m)[1][2]
History
DesignerScherzer Rolling Lift Bridge Co., Chicago, Illinois[1]
Opened1907[3]
Location

History

The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad completed construction of the bridge in 1907, which originally consisted of three parallel two-track spans. Amtrak partially rehabilitated it in 2009.[4] The bridge is obsolete and requires extensive ongoing maintenance, with speeds restricted to 45 miles per hour (72 km/h). The lift span is manned and required to open on demand; it does so several times per day for commercial boats.[5]

Bridge replacement project

Amtrak plans to replace the bridge with a new high-level fixed bridge with clearance for maritime traffic. Preliminary work began in 2013. MTA's Metro-North Railroad has proposed the Penn Station Access using the bridge for a so-called Hell Gate Line service which would allow some New Haven Line trains to access New York Penn Station.[3][6][7] In January 2019, Amtrak and the MTA reached an agreement regarding Penn Station Access. As part of the deal, the MTA would pay to replace the Pelham Bay Bridge.[8][9]

In August 2022 the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) awarded a $4.5 million grant to Amtrak for the bridge replacement project.[10] In November 2022 the FRA published its inventory of pending improvement projects for the Northeast Corridor. The report lists the replacement of the Pelham Bay Bridge as one of 15 "Major Backlog Projects" which have the highest priority for funding.[11]

In June 2023, Amtrak applied for additional FRA grants to support multiple improvement projects in the Northeast Corridor, including additional work on the Pelham Bay Bridge project.[12][13]

See also
As seen from Pelham Bridge with Coop City in background

References
  1. "Amtrak - Hutchinson River Bridge". bridgehunter.com. Retrieved April 11, 2017.
  2. Wai-Fah Chen, Lian Duan (1999). Bridge Engineering Handbook. CRC Press. pp. 21–3. ISBN 0849374340.
  3. "Pelham Bay Bridge Replacement". Washington, D.C.: Northeast Corridor Commission. Retrieved April 11, 2017.
  4. "Amtrak to Begin Major Bridge Project in New York" (PDF) (Press release). New York, NY: Amtrak. November 19, 2009. ATK-09-096.
  5. United States Coast Guard. Drawbridge Operation Regulations. "§117.793. Hutchinson River (Eastchester Creek)." Code of Federal Regulations, 33 CFR 117.793
  6. Steinemann, Jeremy (August 23, 2011). "A 21st Century NEC: The Top Four Failing Bridges that Must Be Replaced". New York, NY: Northeast Alliance for Rail.
  7. Schned, Daniel (January 2014). Getting Back on Track (PDF) (Report). New York, NY: Regional Plan Association. p. 21. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 11, 2014.
  8. "Amtrak, Metro-North Reach Deal on Bronx Expansion Plans - New York Public Radio, Podcasts, Live Streaming Radio, News". WNYC. January 22, 2019. Retrieved January 23, 2019.
  9. "Penn Station Access Project gets green light, will open West Side to Westchester commuters for first time". The Journal News. January 22, 2019. Retrieved January 23, 2019.
  10. "Biden Administration, USDOT Announce Over $233 Million in Grants to Upgrade Intercity Passenger Rail Service". Washington, D.C.: U.S. Federal Railroad Administration (FRA). August 18, 2022.
  11. 2022 Northeast Corridor Project Inventory (PDF) (Report). FRA. November 2022. p. 11.
  12. Toll, Beth (June 5, 2023). "Amtrak Applies for $7.3 Billion in Federal Grants to Advance Northeast Corridor Infrastructure Upgrades". Amtrak Media. Retrieved August 24, 2023.
  13. "Amtrak applies for federal grants to expand services". Railway Gazette International. June 7, 2023. Retrieved August 24, 2023.
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