“We will deliver Portal North on time and on budget because that’s how it has to be,” NJ Transit Board Chair Diane Gutierrez-Scaccetti said during last week’s groundbreaking for the long-delayed, long-overdue Portal North Bridge project. “We will deliver.” Her promise echoed the sentiments expressed by NJ Transit President and CEO Kevin Corbett as he kicked off the festivities.

“I just want to be clear that this will not be a 20-year project,” Corbett said. “The first track to this new bridge is scheduled to open in 2026. And I know quite a few of my fellow commuters who have that date marked on their calendar.”

“I am so excited to work with the men and women who will grind it out every day to make sure that we have a successful ribbon cutting in 2026,” said Gutierrez-Scaccetti, who is commissioner for the New Jersey Department of Transportation, as well.

The promises also reflect the high-stakes nature of this project. The first part of that equation is simply replacing the existing 111-year-old Portal Bridge with its myriad operational and maintenance issues that have caused so many headaches for so many commuters for far too long.

“Sometimes when this bridge needs to be closed after its opening, workers have to get out their sledgehammers and pound the rails back into alignment,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who traveled to Kearny for the Aug. 1 festivities. Buttigieg had obviously been briefed on one of the bridge’s biggest faults. “That’s where we are. It would be frustrating anywhere, but it’s not acceptable at the busiest bridge in the country. This project turns the Portal North Bridge from a choke point to an access point.”

“Over the years, this critical piece of infrastructure has evolved from a transit marvel into a transit nightmare,” said U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez. “Simply put, the Portal Bridge is a choke point on the busiest stretch of rail in America. It is a choke point on the future, and we deserve better. Today we turn the page.”

“This rail corridor, the busiest in the United States of America – heck, in North America – runs a half an hour slower than it did in the 1960s. This is a thing that should tick us off if we’re competitive,” added U.S. Sen. Cory Booker.

Buttigieg noted that the groundbreaking was the best way he could think of to start a Monday morning.

“The worst way I can think of to start a Monday morning is late to work, and for so many commuters it has been difficult to know that you can count on our 111-year-old infrastructure,” said Buttigieg. “It is the very finest, state-of-the-art engineering of the Teddy Roosevelt administration. But we needed something different and something better.”

Gov. Phil Murphy said the groundbreaking marked the start of the most important infrastructure project in the nation. Not only is the new Portal North Bridge needed to improve service and reliability, it is also the kickoff to the much-broader Gateway Program, which aims to double rail capacity between New Jersey and New York while creating new jobs and economic activity. At the center of the Gateway Program is a $10 billion plan to build a new rail tunnel under the Hudson River.

“Safe, reliable and modern infrastructure is about more than just getting to work on time. It is also about thousands of good-paying jobs that this project will create and the families they support,” Murphy said. “By improving connectivity, we will also promote economic opportunity, not just for New Jersey residents and commuters, but for the Northeast Corridor and our nation. The new Portal North Bridge symbolizes our lasting legacy and our commitment to the welfare and prosperity of all New Jerseyans.”

The groundbreaking, the third such Portal Bridge-related event in the last few years, drew a large contingent of federal, state and local officials along with transportation officials and various stakeholders. In fact, there were so many officials present, three dirt toss photo-ops were required to accommodate all the dignitaries gathered.

Last October, Murphy and NJ Transit announced the approval of a $1.56 billion construction contract awarded to Skanska/Traylor Bros PNB Joint Venture for the construction of the new Portal North Bridge. The contract is the largest construction award in NJ Transit’s history.

In January, Murphy announced the signing of a full funding grant agreement that secured $766.5 million in Federal Transit Administration funding to support the construction.

Then, in April, the project was given a green light. The nearly $2 billion effort is being funded by the U.S. Department of Transportation, New Jersey, New York and Amtrak.

The project calls for a new modern two-track, high-level, fixed-span bridge that will rise 50 feet over the Hackensack River, allowing marine traffic to pass underneath without interrupting rail operations.

“NJ Transit and Amtrak are taking a vital first step in bringing the Gateway Program to life by starting construction on the Portal North Bridge,” Gateway Development Commission co-Chairs Balpreet Grewal-Virk and Steven Cohen said in April. “The bridge will be a visible symbol of progress while its being built and will bring a better passenger experience into and out of New York and greater reliability and resiliency on the busiest stretch of the Northeast Corridor.”

The Gateway Development Commission will spearhead efforts to realize the dream of bringing the Gateway Program to fruition. “Beginning full construction on the Portal Bridge gives hope to millions of travelers up and down the Northeast Corridor who have suffered from a stuck century old swing bridge,” said Grewal-Virk and Alicia Glen, who was named New York chair for the Gateway Development Commission in July. “Portal will be a visible symbol that this nation and region take 21st Century rail travel seriously.”

In addition to bringing Glen on board last month, the Gateway Development Commission also tapped Kris Kolluri, a former New Jersey Department of Transportation commissioner, as its first chief executive officer.

“There is no more urgent infrastructure project in the nation than the Hudson Tunnel,” Kolluri said when he started as CEO last month. “I will be singularly focused on ensuring the project is approved, funded and built so millions of passengers have rail travel they can rely on, and the region and nation are served.”

“We are entering into a true infrastructure decade,” said Buttigieg.

“We haven’t seen infrastructure investment like this that we’re undertaking across our state or in the country, for that matter, in a generation or more,” Murphy declared.

“The ripple effect of a job like this is profound. The workers involved in this project are grabbing their part of the American dream all because of what these public officials have brought here today,” said Greg Lalevee, business manager of International Union of Operating Engineers Local 825. “On behalf of operating engineers, my fellow craft workers, and all the workers associated with this—we’re happy to get to work and we’re ready to get to work. That’s why we greet today with such enthusiasm.”

“The Hudson County Building & Construction Trades Affiliates are excited for this project,” said Patrick Kelleher, president of that union. “Not only is this great for our state, but for our skilled union workers to secure steady work and income at this time of our state of economy.”

“Having shovels in the ground means that the planning and talking are over; it’s time to build state-of-the-art infrastructure and make rail travel more reliable to the region’s train travelers,” said Amtrak Board Chair Tony Coscia.

Booker said the groundbreaking is the culmination of an effort that has spanned many years, asking what is injustice, if not having such a choke point at the busiest rail corridor in America? “This is an injustice that does affect everyone,” Booker said. “And so today is a great day for New Jersey. And heck, it’s a great day for America.”

Menendez said the groundbreaking was about more than just rail and metal and steel. “For travelers, it will mean less time stuck on a train and more time with their families and loved ones and at their destinations,” said Menendez. “For our region, it will help us double rail capacity between Newark and Manhattan as part of the broader Gateway Program. And for our communities, this project is directly tied towards more jobs, higher wages, and greater productivity.”

“It modernizes the way that people and goods get to and from this region that is responsible for 20% of America’s economic product every year,” said Buttigieg.

The new bridge will be built adjacent to the existing structure. While officials look to keep the promise of a ribbon cutting for the first track in 2026, the overall project, which includes tearing down the existing bridge, is expected to take between five and six years.

“This November, the old Portal Bridge will celebrate its 112th year of service. Both it and the current Hudson River rail tunnels were built during the administration of President Theodore Roosevelt,” said Murphy. “That’s a long run in any job. But as that milestone approaches, so too is the day when the old span will finally be retired and torn down and replaced by the brand-new bridge that will take its place.”

“For commuters and our economic future, we know that day cannot come quickly enough,” Murphy added.