Bob Menendez: “I thank my distinguished colleague from Connecticut for his engagement and for recognizing our former colleague, Senator…”

“I thank my distinguished colleague from Connecticut for his engagement and for recognizing our former colleague, Senator Lautenberg, whose passion for public transportation was unmatched in this body. He understood the nexus of why it was important not just to our State of New Jersey and the Northeast but to the country. My colleague from Connecticut is correct, that Portal Bridge--it is called the Portal Bridge because it is a bridge that is a portal to the entire Northeast corridor and carries passengers over a movable swing bridge across the Hackensack River between Kearny and Secaucus, NJ. It is a portal into and out of Manhattan. It is one of the busiest sections of the corridor with hundreds of passengers and commuter trains crossing it every day. You would think that given its importance to the Northeast and the millions who live in that region, it would be a state-of-the-art, reliable, world-class bridge that we would be willing to invest in, making it the best possible bridge. Unfortunately, the reality is quite different. The Portal Bridge was built in 1910. It is over 100 years old and deteriorating--causing significant delays for Amtrak riders in New Jersey and throughout the system. Because of the low clearance over the Hackensack River, the bridge opens to allow ships to pass, thereby creating delays for rail passengers and then more delays come when the bridge doesn't lock into place because it is too old and doesn't work properly.…”