OIG: Amtrak can improve oversight of Portal North Bridge project

As of January 2024, the Portal North Bridge project was on budget and on schedule. But Amtrak has opportunities to improve its support of New Jersey Transit, the project's lead sponsor, and better oversee its own interests and reduce risks to the project, the Amtrak Office of Inspector General said in a report released yesterday.

The bridge project is part of the $40 billion Gateway program that calls for upgrading and replacing rail infrastructure between Newark, New Jersey, and New York City. In its report, the OIG found that Amtrak, in its supporting role, has opportunities to improve its processes and reduce risk to the project.

Specifically, Amtrak did not anticipate demand for track outages and labor, had differing expectations for information sharing with NJ Transit, and did not initially staff its project team to effectively manage its work on the project, OIG officials said in a press release. 

Amtrak is responsible for contributing about $495 million to the $2.4 billion project, along with a portion of any cost overruns, the report states. Amtrak will ultimately own the bridge. Accordingly, the railroad has a significant role in supporting NJ Transit in the bridge’s construction and has a vested interest in ensuring the project meets its requirements.

The OIG recommended improvements to Amtrak's process for identifying outage, labor and information needs at the outset of future projects. Additionally, it recommended that Amtrak assess and address where information-sharing expectations may continue to vary with NJ Transit. Going forward, the report said that lessons learned from Portal North Bridge can also contribute insights to Amtrak’s multibillion-dollar portfolio of capital improvements.

The full report can be downloaded from the OIG website.