The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) announced Amtrak is receiving nearly $10 billion in funding for infrastructure projects on its Northeast Corridor.
“These grants will help advance Amtrak’s plans to modernize the Northeast Corridor and unlock major bottlenecks on the busiest passenger rail corridor in America,” said Amtrak CEO Stephen Gardner.
Among the projects being financed in Fairfield County are the replacement of the Devon River Bridge connecting Stratford and Milford (Amtrak will provide $16 million and Connecticut will provide $45 million in matching funds), the replacement of the Saugatuck River Bridge in Westport (Connecticut will provide $4 million and Amtrak will provide $1.5 million) and the replacement of Norwalk’s Walk Bridge (Connecticut will provide $87 million and Amtrak will provide $29 million). Three different infrastructure projects are also being funded to upgrade the New Haven line running along the Connecticut shoreline.
Westchester is also part of the mix, with funding being allocated for a proposed project to rehabilitate 19 miles of the Amtrak-owned Hell Gate Line connecting New York Penn Station and New Rochelle. The Metropolitan Transit Authority would provide $527 million in matching funds while the FRA is selecting the project for a Phased Funding Agreement with a total award amount of up to $1.6 billion.
Other New York projects include the rehabilitation of the East River Tunnels, with Amtrak is contributing $55 million, the MTA contributing $175 million and New Jersey Transit contributing $85 million. Another proposed project involves replacing the Pelham Bay Bridge in the Bronx – that structure only accommodates intercity passenger and freight trains, but a new bridge with enable the addition of commuter trains. Amtrak will provide $14.5 million for that project.
