ConDig (10-Jan–21).  Swedish developer and contractor Skanska has driven off with a $1.09 billion contract for the Portal North Bridge replacement scheme in New Jersey.

The contractor said it had signed the deal with NJ TRANSIT as part of a joint venture with Traylor Bros Inc. The total contract is worth $1.56 billion.

The contract includes the replacement of the existing Portal North Bridge with a new two-track fixed structure crossing directly over the Hackensack River. The new bridge will rise more than 50-feet, or 15 meters, over the river, doubling the height of the existing bridge, and, including the approaches, will span nearly 2.5 miles, or 4 kilometers, of the Northeast Corridor. 

The new Portal North Bridge will be constructed adjacent to the existing structure, according to Skanska. The proposed improvements include the decommissioning and removal of the existing Portal Bridge, new rail bridges over adjacent roadways, retaining walls, access roads, construction access platforms, new track configuration, traction power supply and distribution, and catenary and communication support structures.

Construction is slated to start in the second quarter of this year and is expected to be completed during the third quarter 2027.

In December, Skanska announced that it had spun off its office building Two Drydock in Boston for $234.5 million.

In October, Skanska said it would invest $216 million in the 17xM office development project in Washington, DC. 

The month prior, Skanska landed a $82 million deal to build an interchange at Interstate 75 (I-75) and Big Bend Road in Hillsborough County, Florida.

In July, Skanska signed a $248 million contract to upgrade an existing corporate campus in Long Island, New York.

The company said it had sold off its US multi-discipline design firm PCI Skanska Inc (PCIS) for $20 million in June.