Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Watch This Depressing 60 Minutes Video About Crumbling Infrastructure In The Northeast Corridor
By
Jen Chung
Published Nov 24, 2014
Modified Nov 24, 2014
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
60 Minutes
By
Jen Chung
Published Nov 24, 2014
Modified Nov 24, 2014
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
We know that over a thousand NY State bridges are "structurally deficient"—which makes reminders of our crappy infrastructure (example) incredibly alarming, like last night's 60 Minutes segment about how the government is failing everyone by not investing in infrastructure.
Business leaders, labor unions, governors, mayors, congressmen and presidents have complained about a lack of funding for years, but aside from a one time cash infusion from the stimulus program, nothing much has changed. There is still no consensus on how to solve the problem or where to get the massive amounts of money needed to fix it, just another example of political paralysis in Washington.
Tens of millions of American cross over bridges every day without giving it much thought, unless they hit a pothole. But the infrastructure problem goes much deeper than pavement. It goes to crumbling concrete and corroded steel and the fact that nearly 70,000 bridges in America—one out of every nine—is now considered to be structurally deficient.
One bridge that 60 Minutes zeroes in on is right next door in New Jersey—the Portal Bridge over the Hackensack River. Amtrak CEO Joe Boardman explained to Steve Kroft why it's so important:
Joe Boardman: This is the Achilles heel that we have on the Northeast Corridor.
Steve Kroft: How much traffic goes over it every day?
Joe Boardman: It's almost 500 trains a day. It's the busiest bridge in the Western Hemisphere for train traffic, period.
Steve Kroft: And what kind of shape is it in?
Joe Boardman: It's safe, Steve, but it's not reliable. And it's getting less reliable. It's old. Its systems are breaking down. There's an inability to make it work on a regular, reliable basis.
Boardman says the Portal Bridge is based on a design from the 1840s and was already obsolete shortly after it was completed in 1910. It's a swing bridge that needs to be opened several times a week so barges can pass up and down the river. It takes about a half an hour. The problem is it fails to lock back into place on a regular basis.
Steve Kroft: And what kind of problems does that cause?
Joe Boardman: It causes trains to stack up on both sides. And actually, when a train stacks up here, it can stack up all the way down to Washington and all the way back up to Boston. This is a single point of failure. That's one of the biggest worries we have on this corridor is these single points of failure.
The NY Times reported recently, "Since the start of last year, the bridge has been blamed for about 250 delays on the rails, according to New Jersey Transit, which is its heaviest user."
The Northeast Corridor is the most profitable line on Amtrak; in fact, it helps keep other unprofitable lines afloat. Amtrak actually already has plans and a cost ($1 billion) to update the bridge, but no one in government has acted on it.
Former president of the American Society of Civil Engineers, Andy Hermann, told Kroft, "You're sitting there at these [House or Senate] committee meetings; they seem to agree with you. Yes, we have to make investments in infrastructure. Yes, we have to do these things. But then they come around and say, 'Well, where are we going to get the money?' And you sort of sit to yourself and say to yourself, 'Well, we elected you to figure that out.'"
Tagged
60 minutes
amtrak
infrastructure
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
NYC Council to consider earlier Legionella reporting after deadly outbreaks
A bill facing a hearing Monday would require cooling tower owners to notify city health officials when bacteria levels reach a much lower threshold.
By
Catalina Gonella
Published Oct 18, 2026 at 7:36 p.m. ET
Staten Island fire injures 2, but spares historic 'Godfather' church
Dozens of firefighters responded to the blaze, which started in a vacant warehouse. It was contained within three hours.
By
Giulia Heyward
News
Staten Island fire injures 2, but spares historic 'Godfather' church
Dozens of firefighters responded to the blaze, which started in a vacant warehouse. It was contained within three hours.
By
Giulia Heyward
Bail reform remains major issue in NY governor's race, 7 years after it became law
By
Gino Fanelli
NYPD identifies Bronx man, 26, killed in Midtown subway shooting
By
Ryan Kost
,
Elizabeth Kim
and
Phil Corso
Have you seen this Yorkie? NYPD looking for adorable pup dognapped from her Queens home
By
Ryan Kost
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .