These bridges span a critical section of the Northeast Corridor (NEC) between Baltimore and Wilmington, each carrying over 100 Amtrak, MARC commuter, and freight trains per day. Full replacement of both bridges will help improve safety and reliability, while enabling Amtrak and MARC to add more train service in the future as needed to accommodate record growth.
Amtrak Executive Vice President, Capital Delivery Laura Mason:
“Today marks a critical step in the long journey to replace both the Bush River and Gunpowder River Bridges, key to improving the travel experience as record Amtrak ridership is projected to continue growing over the next decade. These projects are two important examples of Amtrak’s long-term vision to modernize the Northeast Corridor’s century-old tunnels, bridges, and more.”
Why it matters: The Bush and Gunpowder River Bridges serve over 100 trains from Amtrak, MARC and Norfolk Southern every day. This aging infrastructure restricts train speeds, demands constant maintenance, and bottlenecks both intercity and commuter services. Adding to the unreliability, the outdated structure of the moveable Bush River Bridge requires a 20-person crew during summer weekends to open for marine traffic, an extensive resource strain.
About the projects: Replacing the Bush and Gunpowder River Bridges will address critical state-of-good repair needs and deliver modern, reliable structures featuring several benefits, including:
- Upgrades to track alignment, signal systems, and electric traction over a 10-mile stretch of the NEC, expanding track capacity once both projects are constructed;
- Higher speeds of up to 145 miles per hour for Gunpowder River Bridge and 160 for Bush River Bridge (compared with 125 mph today); and
- A fixed-span Bush River Bridge structure that better supports marine traffic needs and no longer requires a crew.
Schedule details: Preliminary engineering is on track to conclude in 2029. HNTB has supported Amtrak on several bridge projects along the NEC in the past, including ongoing work for replacement of the Susquehanna River Bridge in Maryland and Portal North Bridge in New Jersey.
About the bridges: Completed in 1913, Gunpowder River Bridge is located between Chase and Joppatowne, Maryland. To the north is Bush River Bridge, another 113-year-old bridge located between Edgewood and Perryman, MD. Due to their age and deteriorating condition, the bridges experience reliability issues. Bush River Bridge must open for boat traffic, and its outdated infrastructure requires a team to hand crank open the structure. When the bridge has failed to close in the past, Amtrak trains between New York, Philadelphia, and Washington face massive delays. In 2019 alone, more than 72 hours of train delays for Amtrak and MARC trains were caused directly by the Bush River Bridge.
How it’s paid for: This step in the planning process is primarily funded by a grant from the Federal Railroad Administration, along with contributions from Amtrak and the Maryland Transit Administration. Both bridges are listed as key priorities on the FRA’s NEC Project Inventory. Work is currently funded through preliminary engineering and NEPA review; additional future funding would be required for final design and construction.
The big picture: Amtrak and partners are advancing several major infrastructure projects. Recent milestones across Amtrak’s portfolio of major bridge projects include:
- Portal North Bridge [1]: Amtrak and NJ TRANSIT opened the first track on the new bridge earlier this year. The second and final track will open this fall, providing increased reliability to rail customers for generations to come.
- Dock Bridge [2]: Amtrak will soon begin work to rehabilitate this nearly century-old bridge in New Jersey after awarding key construction and project management contracts [3] this summer.
- Sawtooth Bridges: [4] Amtrak and NJ TRANSIT are moving forward with initial construction [5] for the Sawtooth Bridges Replacement Project. This $133 million Federal-State Partnership grant for “enabling components” will support critical improvements along the Northeast Corridor, delivering long-term reliability and operational benefits for more than 200,000 daily customers.
- To learn more about recent progress on other Amtrak projects, visit our infrastructure updates page. [6]
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