Groundbreaking for US$2.3bn Virginia rail bridge project

The 14th Street motorway bridge, which connections Virginia to Washington D.C. in the US. The Long Bridge rail structure is just downstream the 14th St. Bridge. (Image: Adobe Stock)

The new two-track railroad bridge will be constructed alongside an existing 119-year-old bridge, which spans the Potomac River.

At present, the aged crossing operates at 98% capacity during peak travel periods. The expanded infrastructure is expected to help ease rail traffic bottlenecks along the US East Coast. DJ Stadtler, executive director of the VPRA, said the new bridge will bring relief from as far north as Boston, Massachusetts (about 440-mi northeast of Arlington) to as far south as Miami, Florida (more than 1,000-mi south of Arlington).

“In Virginia, our crippling traffic has truly become a bipartisan issue, and the Long Bridge groundbreaking represents our bipartisan solution,” Stadtler said Stadtler. “But it’s not just Virginians who will benefit. Travelers from Boston to Miami will feel the effects of this project.”

Details on Virginia’s $2bn Long Bridge Project

The project is broken into two packages (North and South).

“The North Package encompasses a very complicated construction area from the south side of East Potomac Park and moving north over the Washington Channel and Maine Avenue SW to just south of L’Enfant Plaza in Washington D.C.,” said VRPA.

This package involves the construction of several smaller bridges, including:

• a new rail bridge over the WMATA Portal/I-395
• replacement of the existing two-track Ohio Drive SW rail bridge with a four-track bridge
• replacement of the existing two-track Washington Channel rail bridge with a four-track bridge
• replacement of the existing two-track Maine Avenue SW rail bridge with a four-track bridge
• replacement of the Maine Avenue SW pedestrian bridge

The South Package covers the Virginia portion of the project and includes building two new bridges: the rail bridge over the Potomac River and an adjacent bicycle-pedestrian bridge.

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Sweden-based Skanska and US-based Flatiron Construction received a progressive design-build contract as a joint venture for the Long Bridge Project in 2023. A construction engineering JV of JMT and HNTB (US firms) are also listed as partners on the build, with Genesis Structures, iDesign Engineering, MRCE, and TB&A listed as subcontractors.

“The Skanska/Flatiron Joint Venture team will take the project from the design phase through construction,” said VRPA.

The project is currently on-schedule with preparatory construction expected in the coming weeks and full works slated to start early new year. The bridge is expected to open in 2030.