New Jersey's 107-year-old Portal Bridge has been a symbol of the region's crumbling rail infrastructure. A $1.7 billion project to replace the bridge, launched this week, is designed to improve the situation.

"Officials broke ground Friday on the first piece of a complex and costly project to rebuild and replace the aging rail infrastructure that carries thousands of New Jersey commuters daily into New York," reports Curtis Tate.
The Portal Bridge Project will spend $1.5 billion to add "critical residency and create new capacity" on a ten-mile stretch of the Northeast Corridor between Newark and Penn Station, according to the article.
The Portal Bridge, a 107-year-old span in the Meadowland, "sometimes gets stuck when it opens a few times a week for barges on the Hackensack River" and has "become a major bottleneck on the nation's busiest commuter corridor," according to Tate. Planetizen has been covering the saga of the Portal Bridge since 2014.
FULL STORY: $1.5B project to replace critical New Jersey rail bridge over Hackensack River starts

Trump Administration Could Effectively End Housing Voucher Program
Federal officials are eyeing major cuts to the Section 8 program that helps millions of low-income households pay rent.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

Ken Jennings Launches Transit Web Series
The Jeopardy champ wants you to ride public transit.

Driving Equity and Clean Air: California Invests in Greener School Transportation
California has awarded $500 million to fund 1,000 zero-emission school buses and chargers for educational agencies as part of its effort to reduce pollution, improve student health, and accelerate the transition to clean transportation.

Congress Moves to End Reconnecting Communities and Related Grants
The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee moved to rescind funding for the Neighborhood Equity and Access program, which funds highway removals, freeway caps, transit projects, pedestrian infrastructure, and more.

From Throughway to Public Space: Taking Back the American Street
How the Covid-19 pandemic taught us new ways to reclaim city streets from cars.
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