NJ TRANSIT SANDY-RESILIENCE LONG SLIP PROJECT ADVANCES TO CONSTRUCTION PHASE
October 16, 2019
NEWARK, NJ — The NJ TRANSIT Board of Directors has awarded Walsh Construction Company a $40 million contract for the construction of Phase One of the Long Slip Fill and Rail Enhancement, or “Long Slip,” project adjacent to the Hudson Bergen Light Rail and the Hoboken Yards. When fully completed, the Long Slip project will allow NJ TRANSIT to operate train service longer leading into, and recover more quickly from, storm events.
“The Long Slip Phase One contract award is an example of NJ TRANSIT’s commitment to planning and preparing for the future, to ensure that we are capable of moving our customers where they need to be during significant weather events,” said NJ Department of Transportation Commissioner and NJ TRANSIT Board Chair Diane Gutierrez-Scaccetti. “Combined with NJ TRANSIT’s rapid hiring and equipment purchases, our resilience projects like Long Slip are building a secure and efficient future for our ridership.”
“Superstorm Sandy was a wake-up call in terms of NJ TRANSIT’s vulnerability to major weather events, and our Resilience Projects are geared toward reducing our risk and extending our ability to operate during emergencies,” said NJ TRANSIT President & CEO Kevin Corbett. “The Long Slip project will reduce the impact of future storms and flooding on our services out of the Hoboken Yard, and this contract with Walsh Construction is a major step toward operational security.”
The Long Slip on the Hudson River waterfront in Jersey City is a third of a mile, one hundred-foot wide canal alongside the tracks at NJ TRANSIT’s Hoboken Yards, formerly used for shipping traffic which has been inactive for more than 40 years. The storm surge from Superstorm Sandy caused the Long Slip to overflow its banks resulting in significant flood damage to the yard and weeks of remediation. The project will modify the Long Slip to eliminate it as a conduit for flood water.
The $40M contract awarded today is for Phase One of the project which includes a sewer overflow extension and filling in and leveling of the canal to allow for the construction of a new station. Phase Two, expected to be awarded in 2021, will install six new tracks over the filled canal to service three ADA-accessible, high-level boarding platforms above expected flood levels. The elevated position of these tracks and platforms will improve commuter rail service to and from Hoboken Terminal in advance of and immediately following a storm or other event and will enable more efficient train operations under normal operating conditions.
In March, the NJ TRANSIT Board of Directors approved a $16.5M contract with STV, Inc. for construction management services for both phases of the project. In October 2016, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) issued a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) following its review of the Supplemental Environmental Assessment (EA) prepared by NJ TRANSIT.
The project received a Competitive Resilience Grant from the FTA. More information about the projects in the Resiliency Program is available at http://njtransitresilienceprogram.com .
About NJ TRANSIT
NJ TRANSIT is the nation's largest statewide public transportation system providing more than 925,000 weekday trips on 251 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 18,000 bus stops linking major points in New Jersey, New York and Philadelphia.