Massive Susquehanna River Railway Investment
I am delighted to bring you the exciting news of a $2.7 billion investment in our community. $2.08 billion of that funding will come from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal (Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act) that Congress passed in 2021 while the remaining funding will be a mix from Amtrak and the state of Maryland.
Amtrak is about to begin the construction process for two brand new railway bridges across the Susquehanna River. Currently, there is a railway bridge across the river that was built in 1906 by the Pennsylvania Railroad. During its operation for over a century, it served us very well but has reached its useful limits.
As the United States continued to develop during the many decades following 1906, this bridge became a major component of the Northeast Corridor. This corridor runs from Richmond, Virginia to Boston, Massachusetts and accounts for approximately 58 million American jobs and contributes $5.1 trillion in annual GDP. To contextualize this, the Northeast Corridor comprises 20% of the entire U.S. GDP, and would be the third largest economy in the world if it was its own country. The thousands of miles of rail within the Northeast Corridor have been a critical factor in this economic growth.
In our highly competitive 21st century economy, the existing bridge simply does not have the capacity needed to satisfy the volume of freight and passengers that is demanded, and it has created a major bottleneck. Approximately 100 Amtrak and MARC commuter trains and 12 to 20 Norfolk Southern freight trains run each day on the bridge; the Norfolk Southern trains can only run at night due to congestion. Opening up this bottleneck in the Northeast Corridor would allow for quicker, more efficient transportation, more economic activity, and more jobs.
This blueprint provides an overhead view of how close the two bridges will be.
This project will create four new tracks which shall expand Amtrak’s commuter service, increase freight volume, and mitigate congestion, all while allowing higher travel speeds than the existing bridge permits. The first phase of the project will construct a new two-track bridge near the existing bridge. Once that span is complete, the 1906 bridge will be replaced with a new, modernized two-track bridge as well.
An underrated benefit of this expansion is that it will lessen the amount of pollution created by transporting people and freight using alternative means. Because of the current bottleneck, passengers and freight that otherwise would cross the 1906 bridge are forced to fly or drive cars and large tractor trailers, which emit far more pollution per person/freight load than these trains will once the project is complete. In fact, the EPA estimates that moving freight by rail, instead of highway transportation, lowers greenhouse gas emissions by 75%. Shifting just 10% of long-haul freight from the highway to rail would reduce annual greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 18 million tons. Railroads are the most environmentally friendly way to move freight across land, and I cannot overemphasize my support for this endeavor.
Bolstering our country’s infrastructure is precisely what is needed to enable the United States and our local communities to thrive. This project is a fantastic step towards modernizing our railways and maintaining a competitive advantage while also reducing our greenhouse gas emissions.
If you would like to read more details about the project, you can do so here:
As always, if you have any questions or concerns, do not hesitate to contact my office at 410-841-3158 or marydulany.james@senate.state.md.usAs always, if you have any questions or concerns, do not hesitate to contact my office at 410-841-3158 or marydulany.james@senate.state.md.us
Sincerely,
Mary-Dulany James Senator
Harford County
Maryland General Assembly
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