The Portal North Bridge Replacement earned a 2026 Distinguished Engineering Award from the New Jersey Alliance for Action. The award recognizes the AECOM-STV joint venture’s role in providing construction management and inspection services alongside NJ TRANSIT, Amtrak and regional stakeholders to deliver the bridge replacement through close, multi-agency alignment.
The program honors projects that demonstrate engineering excellence, innovation and significant public benefit. The Portal North Bridge Replacement was recognized for its disciplined delivery approach, resilient design and execution of complex construction activities within a heavily trafficked, operational rail corridor.
Central to this effort was the successful live cutover of multiple active rail lines along Amtrak’s NEC, defining milestones that enabled the transition to the new bridge while maintaining continuous service. Other accomplishments included the transition from a movable swing bridge to a fixed-span structure with increased rail speeds and capacity.
“Delivering a project of this scale while maintaining service required disciplined execution and coordination across dozens of stakeholders,” said Jim Takacs, vice president and senior construction manager at STV. “The Portal North Bridge team delivered a transformative project in an active rail environment where there was little margin for error, and this recognition reflects the expertise and commitment that made it possible.”
The Portal North Bridge Replacement represents a critical modernization investment along the Northeast Corridor. It replaced the century-old Portal Bridge over the Hackensack River with a modern, high-level fixed-span structure that improves reliability across a key segment of the Northeast Corridor.
The original bridge’s age, mechanical limitations and frequent openings for maritime traffic had long contributed to service disruptions affecting approximately 200,000 daily riders, introducing operational risk and limiting schedule reliability for the agencies that manage and depend on that corridor.
The project included several engineering milestones, including the transportation and installation of three massive network tied-arch spans that were assembled off-site and floated into place via the Hudson River before being lifted and installed over the Hackensack River.
Beyond its technical delivery, the Portal North Bridge Replacement improves reliability for rail passengers, supports more predictable service planning for NJ TRANSIT and Amtrak, strengthens regional mobility and positions the corridor for future capacity expansion and long-term resiliency planning along the Northeast Corridor and throughout the Gateway Program.
