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NJ TRANSIT REALLOCATES FEDERAL FUNDING TO SUPPORT CRITICAL RESILIENCY PROJECTS

NJ TRANSIT and the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Agree To Increase Support to Protect Other High-Priority Transit Infrastructure Against Extreme Weather Events

January 26, 2024

NEWARK, NJ – NJ TRANSIT, with the approval of the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), is redirecting $503 million dollars in federal grant funding to support vital resiliency infrastructure improvements at Hoboken Terminal, County Yard in New Brunswick, and the Raritan River Bridge. This funding, which includes the 25% local share, was originally allocated to NJ TRANSIT’s TransitGrid Microgrid Central Facility (MCF) in Kearny.

An intensive review of industry proposals for the MCF revealed that the project was not financially feasible. Further, since this project was originally designed, multiple improvements to the affected power grid have been enacted that have functionally made the MCF as envisioned at that time much less necessary than other critical resiliency projects. More specifically, PSE&G has made significant investments in power grid resiliency under a program called “Energy Strong” throughout the region that has greatly increased power reliability. To that end, NJ TRANSIT management, along with the Board of Directors, determined that the MCF funding would have greater benefit if applied to other key resiliency projects to harden the rail system’s more highly exposed infrastructure, which are at greater risk of failure in the face of increasing climate-related threats, and will directly benefit transit users every day.

“Reallocation of the MCF funding not only supports these high-priority resiliency projects, it also ensures that good-paying, union construction jobs that this funding supports remain in New Jersey,” said NJDOT Commissioner Diane Gutierrez-Scaccetti. “We appreciate the close partnership with the FTA that will better protect our transit system for all New Jerseyans.”

“NJ TRANSIT is grateful for the US Department of Transportation’s support throughout this entire process,” said NJ TRANSIT President & CEO Kevin S. Corbett. “While the TransitGrid procurement process provided valuable knowledge for the future, it showed the funding would be better used to protect these other critical points around the state. This determination was reinforced by New Jersey’s utilities’ work to strengthen the state’s power grid since Superstorm Sandy.”

All of these affected projects within the Sandy Resilience program are critical pieces of rail infrastructure including bridges, safe haven storage yards, and infrastructure located directly on waterfront properties bearing the brunt of past and future storm events. Approximate reallocation will be as follows:

Project Name

MCF Portion Amount

Delco Lead & County Yard Expansion

$175 Million

Raritan River Bridge

$240 Million

Hoboken Long Slip

$88 Million

PROJECT DESCRIPTIONS

Raritan River Bridge

The project includes a new replacement of the existing obsolete bridge damaged in Superstorm Sandy with a new, two track vertical lift bridge on an improved vertical alignment. The new bridge would provide a more resilient structure with additional vertical clearance above the 100-year flood elevation. The introduction of new mechanical and electrical systems would provide for more reliable movable span operations, resulting in reduced maintenance costs from current thresholds. In addition, improved navigation channel geometry at the lift span would significantly reduce risk of vessel collision with the bridge’s pier protection systems and associated costly repairs.

Delco Lead and County Yard Expansion

The Delco Lead and County Yard Expansion is a multifaceted project that would address the operations, storage, and resiliency needs along the NEC and provide a safe haven for rail cars in the event of a major storm or flooding event. The first two phases include the construction of a new Storage & Inspection facility, which would contain crew quarters and equipment storage space; and the expansion of County Yard, which would contain five tracks with the capacity to store 120 rail cars in an area resilient against flooding. The final phase is the construction of a new Delco Lead track that would extend 3.5 miles south and have the capacity to store an additional 288 rail cars. This new track would meet up with the proposed Midline Loop Project in North Brunswick. Ultimately, the creation of a robust, more centrally located storage and inspection facility as part of the Delco Lead and County Yard Expansion would significantly improve NJ TRANSIT’s operational efficiency while reducing costs. It would also substantially enhance the agency’s ability to provide timely and reliable service to its customers, especially following extreme weather events.

Hoboken Long Slip

The project is broken into two phases: Phase I includes filling of the existing canal with structural fill and surcharging; Phase II includes construction of six new tracks with high level platforms and a small crew quarters facility on the filled in canal. Filling the canal eliminates a major point of flood water inflow from the river into the yard and greater Hoboken. The elevated tracks create safe haven for rail cars in the event of another major storm or flooding event.  These additional tracks would be constructed above the base flood elevation and provide emergency capacity in the event multiple main track outages are incurred, such as following an extreme weather event. This increased capacity would also allow for implementation of the Hoboken Terminal Redevelopment Plan which includes a comprehensive approach to providing substantial resiliency and redundancy as well as enhanced capacity, ensuring its service as an essential hub facility within the NJ TRANSIT transportation network.

About NJ TRANSIT

NJ TRANSIT is the nation's largest statewide public transportation system providing more than 925,000 weekday trips on 263 bus routes, three light rail lines, 12 commuter rail lines and through Access Link paratransit service. It is the third largest transit system in the country with 166 rail stations, 62 light rail stations and more than 19,000 bus stops linking major points in New Jersey, New York and Philadelphia.