Skanska and FlatironDragados land $1B Long Bridge contract

The Virginia Passenger Rail Authority has awarded a $1 billion construction contract for the Long Bridge North Project to construction company Skanska and heavy civil infrastructure contractor FlatironDragados. The project will increase rail capacity and double the number of tracks going across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C., to Virginia.

The Long Bridge North Project is part of the larger $2.3 billion, 1.8-mile Long Bridge Project to replace and enhance the busy rail corridor from D.C. into Arlington County with a series of linked, four-track modern rail bridges and corridors.

The overall project calls for upgrading the roughly 120-year-old Long Bridge, a two-track railroad bridge that connects Virginia and D.C. and serves as the primary passenger and freight rail connection between the Southeast and Northeast. Owned and operated by CSX Transportation, the bridge operates at 98% capacity at peak times. When more than two trains need to use the bridge, any additional trains must wait until the tracks are clear.

The VPRA has split the project into north and south packages.

The Long Bridge north package that Skanska and FlatironDragados will work on calls for replacing the existing two-track rail corridor with a four-track system, in areas stretching from the southern limit near the shore of the Potomac River, through East Potomac Park, across the Washington Channel — ultimately connecting to the existing rail network near L’Enfant Plaza station in Washington, D.C.

Skanska says the north package’s refurbished eastbound tracks, which currently serve freight and passenger traffic, will primarily serve CSX Transportation freight rail. The company says the newly built western tracks will cater mainly to passenger services provided by the state-supported Amtrak Virginia service, Amtrak’s long-distance service and Virginia Railway Express, a local commuter rail service.

Construction on the north package is scheduled to begin this month and is anticipated to be completed during the fourth quarter of 2030.

“Skanska is proud to be leading the construction team and work for the Long Bridge North Project, which will vastly improve freight and passenger rail service in the Capital Region,” said Michael Viggiano, executive vice president of Skanska USA Civil, in a statement. “With funding in place and planning and approvals now complete, this highly complex and critical infrastructure project is shovel-ready.”

The Long Bridge south package involves building a new two-track railroad bridge across the Potomac River; a 16-foot-wide bicycle and pedestrian bridge over the George Washington Memorial Parkway and the Potomac River; and additional infrastructure between Arlington and D.C.

In January, the VPRA selected Long Bridge Rail Partners — a joint venture comprising Trumbull, Fay, S&B Construction and Wagman Heavy Civil — as the design-build construction partner for the south package. A VPRA spokesperson stated that while Long Rail Bridge Partners has been selected as the vendor, a contract has yet to be signed. The south package is also expected to be completed in 2030.

Skanska USA, the U.S. subsidiary of the Swedish parent company, is headquartered in New York, with 28 offices around the country and 6,500 employees. Globally, Skanska has 27,000 employees. FlatironDragados has operations in the United States and Canada. It has headquarters in both Broomfield, Colorado, and New York.