There's promising news for rail commuters who travel to New York City on the Northeast Corridor Line. Work on the new Portal North Bridge is halfway done with the installation of the first arch along that span over the Hackensack River.

New Jersey Transit and Amtrak showed off the work that's being done right next to the current Portal North Bridge, which is 114 years old.

That arch will soon slide into its connecting span on the east side. It's one of three arches that make up the bridge.

The arch traveled from New York state by barge along the Hudson River before it was jacked up into place.

Skanska, the contractor company doing this work, specializes in the so-called “heavy lifts.”

Dan Payea, of Skanska, explained what happens next.

“Those spans are approximately 400 feet long, 85 feet tall and 55 feet wide,” he said. “There are guide tracks that’ll bring it right into its final position.”

There are two major differences between the new and current bridges. The new span stands 50 feet above the river, double the height of the current bridge, which will allow marine traffic to go underneath without disturbing trains traveling above.

The new span is also not a swing bridge.

“This was a keystone project to show how we could revitalize the northeast corridor,” says NJ Transit CEO Kevin Corbett. “This will all be fixed, totally reliable. The marine traffic will go underneath so you won’t have it opening.”

Corbett says this is the advantage that will help commuters. Currently, if there’s a ship or any marine traffic that needs to get through, train traffic has to be stopped and the bridge swung open. And when there are breakdowns in that bridge opening, commuters get stuck, says Corbett.

The placement of this first arch will be followed by another on the west side and then the center span.

The bridge will be finished in February, at which point Amtrak will install tracks and new catenary wires.

This project is part of the Gateway Tunnel project.

Eventually, the current Portal Bridge will be demolished to make way for the Portal Bridge South, which will provide two more trains into the city through new tunnels.

“When the new tunnels open, you’ll have four tracks all the way into New York with modern signals, modern catenary,” Corbett said.

New Jersey Transit says they are on time and on budget with this Portal North Bridge. The first trains are expected to cross the new bridge in the spring of 2026.

This project is being paid for with $1.5 billion in federal money.