Amtrak’s Northeast Regional and Acela trains travels on the PelhamBay Bridge, which also connects Metro-North’s New Canaan, Danbury, and Waterbury routes across the Hutchinson River’s transition into Pelham Bay.

The proposed Pelham Bay Bridge Project will replace Amtrak’s existing 1907 movable bridge in the Bronx, New York, with a new, movable bridge. While safe to travel on, the existing bridge is reaching the end of its useful life, has limited design speed, a narrow navigable channel and requires frequent openings that disrupt rail operations. The new bridge will increase operating speeds on this section of the Northeast Corridor (NEC) and reduce the number of openings required to accommodate marine traffic. The new bridge will support Amtrak and Metro-North service, upon completion of the MTA’s Penn Station Access Project. This has been identified as a “Major Backlog Project” on the Federal Railroad Administration’s (FRA) Northeast Corridor Project Inventory, making it a top priority for federal funding.

Amtrak began the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) review process in 2020; however, work was halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Significant work resumed in early 2022.

This project is currently in the environmental review phase, which will be followed by permitting, preliminary design and final design. Construction is estimated to begin in 2029.