The $595 million project to replace the Raritan River Bridge is moving to the next stage.

NJ Transit last week began soliciting bids for the second construction phase of the project after work began in September 2020.

The 113-year-old bridge, which was damaged by superstorm Sandy, carries NJ Transit’s North Jersey Coast Line trains over the Raritan River between Perth Amboy and South Amboy.

The new bridge will integrate resilient structural designs and materials to withstand future storm surges and be significantly less vulnerable to severe weather events, according to NJ Transit officials.

“NJ Transit has continued to advance critical infrastructure projects such as the Raritan River Bridge throughout the pandemic, which is essential to delivering safe and reliable transit services for generations to come,” NJ Transit President and CEO Kevin S. Corbett said in a statement.

The current 2,920-foot swing-span bridge, known as River Draw, is the sole rail link for 17 of the 20 stations on the North Jersey Coast Line between the Jersey Shore and Manhattan.

During Sandy in 2012, the bridge became submerged and was severely damaged, resulting in an 18-day outage for both rail service and marine traffic while the bridge was realigned and repaired.

READ: NJ Transit breaks ground on Raritan River Bridge replacement

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The bridge has a low vertical profile and is at high risk of damage from extreme weather events, according to NJ Transit officials. 

The project includes a new off-line replacement of the bridge with a new, two-track vertical lift bridge on an improved vertical and horizontal alignment. The new bridge would provide a more resilient structure with additional vertical clearance above the 100-year flood elevation, NJ Transit officials said. 

The western alignment would place the new bridge farther away from the ocean to improve flood resilience and increase the design speed for trains, according to NJ Transit officials. The introduction of new mechanical and electrical systems would provide for more reliable movable span operations, resulting in reduced maintenance costs from current thresholds, NJ officials said.

In addition, according to NJ Transit, improved navigation channel geometry at the lift span will significantly reduce the risk of vessel collision, and the associated costly repairs, with the bridge’s pier protection systems.

The second phase of the project will consist of lift bridge and flanking spans superstructure, communications, signal and overhead catenary work, as well as all the systems required for the movable span testing and operation, the erection of the four main span monopoles previously designed, fabricated and tested in the scope of the project’s first phase, according to NJ Transit.

It will also include miscellaneous civil and structural work, wetland mitigation work and the demolition of the existing bridge as necessary to construct the bridge fender system as well as to provide a fully functioning navigational channel beneath the newly constructed bridge, NJ Transit officials said.

Susan Loyer covers Middlesex County and more for MyCentralJersey.com. To get unlimited access to her work, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.