Amtrak Adjusts $6 Billion Baltimore Tunnel Project

en.Wedoany.com Reported - Amtrak has announced adjustments to the scope of its $6 billion Baltimore & Potomac Tunnel Replacement program, the largest single infrastructure investment in the company's history.

The announcement confirms that project construction is moving forward. ADVANCE, a joint venture of AECOM and Jacobs, serves as the project delivery partner. In response to challenges posed by construction market conditions, Amtrak and the Federal Railroad Administration have adjusted the approach to optimize costs and streamline the implementation plan.

Specific adjustments include eliminating an intermediate ventilation facility and its connected small tunnel to reduce the impact of construction on the community. Residents of the Reservoir Hill neighborhood had filed complaints about the ventilation facility and filed a lawsuit in 2024, claiming construction would expose the community to noise pollution, solid waste, and rodent issues.

The project team has also raised the track elevation at the deepest sections of the future tunnel by approximately 10 to 22 feet, reducing excavation requirements and improving long-term operating conditions. At affected locations, the maximum tunnel depth remains approximately 150 feet below street level.

The project team also disclosed multiple construction milestones. Over the past year, work has continued on the new Mulberry Street railroad bridge, the first of five bridges to be rebuilt under the program. In March, the construction team broke through the final rock pillar separating the two sides of the 345-foot-long utility tunnel, which is expected to be completed in 2027 and will house water, sewer, communications, and electrical utilities beneath the tracks.

Tunnel boring machine manufacturer Herrenknecht has begun manufacturing the two machines that will be used for the new tunnel excavation, with the first one already 50% complete.

The program aims to replace the aging 1.4-mile track with a new route, easing congestion on one of the most heavily used rail corridors in the United States. The upgrade will create the Frederick Douglass Tunnel, boring two new tubes for electrified Amtrak and MARC passenger trains, while also building a new West Baltimore MARC station, upgrading 10 miles of rail infrastructure, and improving local streets and bridges.

On the contracting front, a joint venture of Clark Construction and Stacy Witbeck won the Construction Manager at Risk (CMAR) contract for the southern approach in 2023, covering new track and rail infrastructure south of the future tunnel. Another joint venture of Kiewit and J.F. Shea Construction won the CMAR contract for the design and construction of the new tunnel in 2024.

Amtrak President Roger Harris stated that replacing the 153-year-old B&P Tunnel is critical to improving safety and reliability on the Northeast Corridor. He said the successful delivery of the project will continue to depend on the support and collaboration of all partners. Harris expects the tunnel to open in 2036.