Portal North Bridge opens for NJ Transit riders, restoring regular routes and service

New Jersey's new Portal North Bridge officially opened Monday, marking a major milestone in the Gateway Program and restoring normal NJ Transit routes after commuters dealt with disruptions for weeks. 

Riders on several NJ Transit lines faced cancellations, schedule changes and longer trips to and from New York City while crews completed major work, called a "cutover," shifting a rail service track to the new bridge.

The new bridge replaces the more than 115-year-old Portal Bridge, which was prone to mechanical problems and delays. On Friday, some trains were diverted onto the new bridge three days ahead of schedule because of downed power lines. 

Transit officials said a new bridge across the Hackensack River in Kearny was essential to getting long-term reliability and capacity improvements on the Northeast Corridor, which NJ Transit shares with Amtrak. 

Gov. Mikie Sherrill took a ceremonial first train ride over the new Portal North Bridge last Thursday, before regular weekend service resumed Sunday. 

"New Jersey is the state that built the nation, but we need to continue to update New Jersey, and we've fallen short a little bit. And right now it's great to get back into the business of updating our rail system," Sherrill said.  

"It has not been an easy four weeks, but we are almost at the end of the journey here," NJ Transit CEO Kris Kolluri said at the time. 

While trains are now back to their normal schedules, NJ Transit officials still urged riders to double-check their train times to avoid any confusion.