Amtrak has achieved a major milestone for two bridge replacement projects in Maryland: Bush River Bridge and Gunpowder River Bridge. Amtrak has selected HNTB for architectural and engineering services for both projects, which will include community engagement to inform the final design.
These bridges span a critical section of the Northeast Corridor (NEC) between Baltimore and Wilmington, each carrying over 100 Amtrak, MARC commuter, and freight trains per day. Full replacement of both bridges will help improve safety and reliability, while enabling Amtrak and MARC to add more train service in the future as needed to accommodate record growth.
Replacing the Bush and Gunpowder River Bridges will address critical state-of-good repair needs and deliver modern, reliable structures featuring several benefits, including:
- Upgrades to track alignment, signal systems, and electric traction over a 10-mile stretch of the NEC, expanding track capacity once both projects are constructed;
- Higher speeds of up to 145 miles per hour for Gunpowder River Bridge and 160 for Bush River Bridge (compared with 125 mph today); and
- A fixed-span Bush River Bridge structure that better supports marine traffic needs and no longer requires a crew.
Preliminary engineering is on track to conclude in 2029. HNTB has supported Amtrak on several bridge projects along the NEC in the past, including ongoing work for replacement of the Susquehanna River Bridge in Maryland and Portal North Bridge in New Jersey.
Completed in 1913, Gunpowder River Bridge is located between Chase and Joppatowne, Maryland. To the north is Bush River Bridge, another 113-year-old bridge located between Edgewood and Perryman, MD. Due to their age and deteriorating condition, the bridges experience reliability issues. Bush River Bridge must open for boat traffic, and its outdated infrastructure requires a team to hand crank open the structure. When the bridge has failed to close in the past, Amtrak trains between New York, Philadelphia, and Washington face massive delays. In 2019 alone, more than 72 hours of train delays for Amtrak and MARC trains were caused directly by the Bush River Bridge.
-via Press Release
