Century-old New Jersey rail bridge, bane of Northeast corridor travelers, awaits final funding

A century-old rail bridge that causes regular delays on the heavily traveled Northeast Corridor is awaiting funding to finish a replacement project.

Environmental and design work has been completed for the Portal Bridge over the Hackensack River in Kearny, New Jersey. A new bridge could be completed in less than four years.

Amtrak owns the bridge and needs between $900 million and $1 billion to finish the project. That could be an uphill climb with Republicans, who have historically been wary of funding large infrastructure projects, poised to take control of Congress.

The 104-year-old bridge swings open to allow boats to pass through and occasionally gets stuck returning to the closed position. That has caused delays that can last hours.