Sawtooth Bridges

Pair of railroad viaducts in New Jersey; owned by Amtrak

Sawtooth Bridges

Looking west towards Newark

Coordinates| 40°44′38″N 74°7′30″W﻿ / ﻿40.74389°N 74.12500°W﻿ / 40.74389; -74.12500
Carries| Northeast Corridor
Crosses| NJ Transit, PATH, Conrail
Locale| New Jersey Meadowlands
Kearny, New Jersey
Other name(s)| Amtrak Bridge No. 7.80
Amtrak Bridge No. 7.96
Owner| Amtrak
Heritage status| PRR
Characteristics
Design| Viaduct
Total length| 961 ft (293 m)
Rail characteristics
No. of tracks| 4 (2 on each bridge)[1]
History
Construction start| 1907
Inaugurated| 1910
Statistics
Daily traffic| 400+ Amtrak and NJ Transit trains[2]
Location
References
[1]

The Sawtooth Bridges are a pair of railroad bridges on the Northeast Corridor (NEC) known individually as Amtrak Bridge No. 7.80 and Amtrak Bridge No. 7.96. They are located in the Meadowlands in Kearny, New Jersey, between Newark Penn Station and Secaucus Junction at a stretch where the rights-of-way of Amtrak, NJ Transit, PATH, and Conrail converge and re-align. The name refers to their appearance and the numbers refer to the milepoint (MP) from New York Penn Station. Originally built by the Pennsylvania Railroad, they are now owned and operated by Amtrak. They are slated for replacement as part of the Gateway Program, an infrastructure-improvement program along the NEC.

## History

[edit]

New York Tunnel Extension, 1912

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Newark/Hoboken Division approaches

Legend

|  |  |

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| Northeast Corridor

to Boston
& LIRR Main Line

to Greenport

|  |

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Sunnyside Yard

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East River Tunnels under East River

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|  | New York Penn Station
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North River Tunnels under Hudson River

| NY

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|  | Hoboken Terminal
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Hoboken Yard

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Bergen Tunnels under Bergen Hill

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|  | Secaucus Junction│

MAIN BCL PVL

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Boonton Line to Hackettstown

|  |

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| Portal Bridge│Lower Hack Lift

over Hackensack River

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| Kearny

Connection

Sawtooth

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| Kearny

Connection
│ Bridges

Sawtooth
│ Waterfront

Connection

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|  |

| Newark Drawbridge│Dock Bridge

over Passaic River

|  |

|  | Newark Broad Street
|  |

|  | Newark Penn

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GLAD MOBO M&E

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Hunter Connection

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CNJ to Communipaw Terminal

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|  | Elizabeth

(NJT)

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|  | Elizabeth

(CNJ)

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|  |

RVL to High Bridge│Aldene Connection

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Elizabeth River

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Rahway River Bridge

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UNION interlocking│NJCL to Bay Head

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| Northeast Corridor & NEC

to Trenton

* * *

|  |  |  |  |  |

Newark Division

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Hoboken Division

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|

(12 kV 25 Hz AC)

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(25 kV 60 Hz AC)

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The viaducts were built in 1907 by the Pennsylvania Railroad as part of its New York Tunnel Extension project, which included the Portal Bridge and the North River Tunnels. The bridges are east of the former Manhattan Transfer station.

## Junctions and interlockings

[edit]

Avelia Liberty trainset crossing Amtrak Bridge No. 7.80

At this stretch of the Northeast Corridor, the rights-of-way of Amtrak, NJ Transit, PATH, and Conrail converge, run parallel, and re-align. Amtrak Bridge No. 7.80 carries two NEC tracks over four NJ Transit commuter rail tracks used by the Montclair-Boonton Line, the Morristown Line and the Gladstone Branch. Amtrak Bridge No. 7.96 carries the two NEC tracks over one track of PATH's Newark–World Trade Center line and the single track Conrail (CRCX) Center Street Branch freight rail line.[3] There is no junction with PATH.[1]

East of the bridges at the Kearny Connection/"Swift Interlocking" (MP 7.2) it is possible for NJ Transit Midtown Direct trains on the Morris and Essex Lines and Montclair-Boonton Line to enter (via Track 6) and leave the Northeast Corridor.[4] "Hudson Interlocking" (MP8.3) and the single track limited-use NJ Transit "Red Bridge", part of the Waterfront Connection, allows trains access to the NEC when travelling to or from Newark Penn in the west. It is generally used by NJ Transit's North Jersey Coast Line or Raritan Valley Line trains access to Hoboken Terminal on the Hudson Waterfront.[5]

## Replacement and expansion to four tracks

[edit]

The Sawtooth Bridges, considered a part of major bottleneck in the busiest section of the Northeast Corridor, are slated for replacement as part of the Gateway Program, an infrastructure improvement program along 10 miles of the rail line between Newark and New York.[6][7] The plans call for expansion of the right-of-way to four tracks and would also include the construction of new bridges in the Kearny Meadows over Newark Turnpike and Belleville Turnpike.[8] Initial stages of replacement of the nearby Portal Bridge over the Hackensack River began in 2019.

In March 2020, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) issued an environmental assessment.[9] Construction would involve the building of a new bridge (Sawtooth Bridge North), where service would be transferred during the demolition of existing Sawtooth Bridge south and building of its replacement. The project will also build a new viaduct for NJ Transit Track 5.[10] As of 2020, the projected year for completion was 2029.[11] As of January 2025, the estimated construction completion is in 2032.[12]

## See also

[edit]

* Kearny Junction
* Bergen Tunnels
* List of bridges, tunnels, and cuts in Hudson County, New Jersey
* List of Northeast Corridor infrastructure
* List of New Jersey railroad junctions

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c "Amtrak Sawtooth Bridges Replacement Project". Federal Railroad Agency. March 4, 2020. Retrieved May 2, 2020.
2. ^ May, Tiana (November 21, 2023). "Amtrak begins procurement for Sawtooth Bridges replacement project". Railway-News.
3. ^ "Case Studies: Sawtooth Bridges Replacement Project". Calladum Group. Retrieved May 6, 2020.
4. ^ Hanley, Robert (May 1, 1991). "New Jersey to Add Trains to Midtown". New York Times. Retrieved May 2, 2020.
5. ^ Hanley, Robert (September 10, 1991). "Hoboken-Newark Rail Link Opens as Part of Multimillion-Dollar Expansion". New York Times. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
6. ^ "The Future of Passenger Rail: What's Next for the Northeast Corridor? : Hearing Before the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, United States Senate, One Hundred Thirteenth Congress, First Session, April 17, 2013". U.S. Government Printing Office. 2014. Retrieved May 7, 2020.
7. ^ "NY-NJ Gateway Project: Critical Fixes, Big Builds". www.enr.com. Retrieved May 2, 2020.
8. ^ "NEC INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS OF RELEVANCE TO NEW JERSEY" (PDF). ARP. January 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 26, 2016. Retrieved May 2, 2020.
9. ^ Hutter, David (March 5, 2020). "FRA issues environmental assessment for Sawtooth Bridge replacement project". Retrieved May 2, 2020.
10. ^ Wanek-Libman, Mischa (March 6, 2020). "FRA publishes Environmental Assessment of Northeast Corridor's Sawtooth Bridges project". Mass Transit Magazine. Retrieved March 2, 2020.
11. ^ "Gateway Component: Sawtooth Bridge". Northeast Corridor Commission. Archived from the original on April 12, 2020. Retrieved May 2, 2020.
12. ^ "Sawtooth Bridges Replacement | Amtrak". www.amtrak.com. Retrieved 2025-01-15.

## External links

[edit]

* Gateway Program
* Amtrak Gateway Program
* Northeast Corridor Investment Plan 2017

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NJ Transit Rail Operations

Hoboken Division|

* Bergen County Line
* Main Line
* Meadowlands Rail Line
* Montclair–Boonton Line
* Morris & Essex Lines ( Morristown Line and  Gladstone Branch)
* Pascack Valley Line
* Port Jervis Line

Newark Division|

* Atlantic City Line
* North Jersey Coast Line
* Northeast Corridor Line
* Princeton Branch
* Raritan Valley Line

Connections|

* Aldene Connection
* Harold Interlocking
* Lehigh Line Connection
* Kearny Connection
* Montclair Connection
* Port Morris Junction
* Secaucus Junction
* Waterfront Connection

Current rolling stock|

* EMD GP40PH-2
* ALP-46
* ALP-45DP
* PL42AC
* Comet coaches
* Comet V
* MultiLevel coaches
* Arrow multiple units

Bridges and tunnels|

* Beach Bridge
* Bergen Tunnels
* Brielle Draw
* Connecting Railway Bridge
* DB Draw
* Delair Bridge
* Dock Bridge
* East River Tunnels
* HX Draw
* Lower Hack Lift
* Lyndhurst Draw
* Morgan Draw
* Morrisville–Trenton Railroad Bridge
* Newark Drawbridge
* North River Tunnels
* Oceanport Draw
* Portal Bridge
* Rahway River Bridge
* Raritan Bay Drawbridge
* Raritan River Bridge
* Roseville Tunnel
* Shark River Draw
* Upper Hack Lift
* WR Draw

Stations and yards|

* List of stations
* Historic stations
* County Yard
* Morrisville Yard
* Sunnyside Yard

Proposed lines|

* Lackawanna Cut-Off
* Monmouth Ocean Middlesex Line
* West Trenton Line

Other topics|

* Access to the Region's Core
* Atlantic City Express Service
* Glassboro–Camden Line
* Gateway Program
* Mid-Line Loop
* Northern Branch
* Passaic–Bergen–Hudson Transit
* Sawtooth Bridges
* Train to the Game
* Former stations
* Proposed stations

* v
* t
* e

Northeast Corridor services

Intercity|

|  Amtrak|

* Acela
* Amtrak Hartford Line
* Northeast Regional
* Cardinal
* Carolinian
* Crescent
* Keystone Service
* Palmetto
* Pennsylvanian
* Silver Meteor
* Vermonter

|

Commuter|

|  MBTA|

* Providence/Stoughton Line

|

CT Rail|

* Hartford Line
* Shore Line East

Metro-North Railroad|

* New Haven Line

NJ Transit|

* Midtown Direct
* Northeast Corridor Line
* North Jersey Coast Line
* Raritan Valley Line

SEPTA|

* Trenton Line
* Wilmington/Newark Line

MARC|

* Penn Line

Freight|

* Norfolk Southern Railway
* CSX Transportation
* Providence and Worcester Railroad
* Conrail

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