The Long Bridge Project is a $2.3bn rail infrastructure improvement initiative in the US led by the Virginia Passenger Rail Authority (VPRA).
Spanning 1.8-miles (2.89km), the project is aimed at improving reliability and expanding rail capacity between Arlington, Virginia and Washington, D.C..
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It is planned to supplement the existing CSX Transportation-operated Long Bridge, which operates at near full capacity during peak periods, by easing this critical bottleneck.
The Long Bridge Project is also a core component of Transforming Rail in Virginia, a nearly $6bn statewide programme to expand passenger and freight capacity and improve services through a portfolio of projects.
In February 2021, the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation approved preliminary engineering for the project.
VPRA held the ground-breaking ceremony for the project in October 2024, with early construction activities, such as site preparation, starting soon after.
Major construction work is expected to begin in early 2026, and the project is scheduled for completion in 2030.
Long Bridge Project details
The Long Bridge project includes the construction or replacement of five rail bridges and two pedestrian/cycle bridges.
These include the Potomac River rail bridge and the Potomac River cycle-pedestrian bridge, the Ohio Drive SW rail bridge, the Washington Channel rail bridge, the Maine Avenue SW rail bridge, and the Maine Avenue SW pedestrian bridge.
A new two-track rail bridge will be built adjacent to the existing more than century-old Long Bridge across the Potomac River.
Once complete, the project will create a continuous four-track corridor between the Long Bridge Aquatic Centre in Arlington to L’Enfant Plaza in Washington, D.C..
Doubling of the capacity will also enable the separation of freight and passenger train operations, thereby improving service reliability.
The new western pair will primarily accommodate national passenger railroad company Amtrak and Virginia Railway Express (VRE) passenger trains, while existing tracks will mainly carry CSX freight trains.
Construction details
The project will be delivered through two main contracts: the North Package and the South Package.
The North Package will utilise a progressive design-build approach while the South Package will follow a design-build delivery method.
The North Package covers the construction zone starting from the south side of East Potomac Park and moving northwards over the Washington Channel and Maine Avenue SW to just south of L’Enfant Plaza.
This package includes constructing the WMATA Portal/I-395 rail bridge, and the replacement of the existing two-track Ohio Drive SW, Washington Channel and Maine Avenue SW rail bridges with four-track structures.
Additionally, the package includes the replacement of the Maine Avenue SW pedestrian bridge.
The South Package encompasses the Virginia segment, involving the construction of two new bridges: the rail bridge over the Potomac River and an adjacent cycle-pedestrian bridge.
Financing
Funding for the Long Bridge Project comes from the state government, Amtrak, VRE and the federal government.
In August 2022, VPRA received a $20m grant from the US Department of Transportation through the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity Grant Program to support the Long Bridge Bicycle and Pedestrian Crossing Project.
The Federal Railroad Administration awarded VPRA a $729m grant in December 2023 for the final design and construction of the Long Bridge Project and other TRV Phase 2 projects. The funding was awarded under the Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail Program.
The estimated budgets for the North and South Packages are around $1.65bn and $1.01bn, respectively.
Contractors involved
US-based infrastructure engineering company H&H is serving as the overall structural design lead. The company is responsible for geotechnical engineering, foundation design, scour analysis, track design support, permitting, specification writing, survey coordination, constructability, and sequencing for preliminary engineering.
VHB, a civil engineering consulting and design company, served as the lead consultant for the National Environmental Policy Act/Conceptual Engineering and Preliminary Engineering phases for the rail project.
In December 2023, VPRA selected the joint venture (JV) of Skanska and FlatironDragados (then Flatiron) for the Long Bridge-North Package. The contract was signed in May 2025, with Skanska’s share valued at $658m.
Johnson, Mirmiran & Thompson and HNTB are also serving as contractors for this package. Genesis Structures, iDesign Engineering, MRCE, and TB&A are subcontractors.
In January 2025, VPRA appointed Long Bridge Rail Partners JV as design-build contractors for the South Package. The JV comprises Trumbull Corporation, PJ Dick, Lindy, Fay, S&B Construction, and Wagman Heavy Civil.
STV was named as the lead designer for the South Package, providing civil, structural, environmental, and geotechnical engineering services, as well as design for signals, utilities, and landscape architecture. Dewberry is serving as a sub-designer for the package.