New Jersey Transit will receive $1.27 billion from the Federal Transit Administration for five projects designed to help NJT recover from damage caused by Superstorm Sandy in 2012, in part by being more prepared for future events.
Announcements made Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2014, by the office of Gov. Chris Christie and by House Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), provided details with varying emphasis.
Pallone’s office emphasized an NJ Transit project to build a new train yard and expand an existing yard in New Brunswick, as well as expand NJT’s existing Jersey Avenue Yard, also in New Brunswick, providing “flood-proof storage for 444 rail cars,” according to the governor’s office. Pallone’s statement identified the new yard as the Delco Lead Safe Haven Storage and Re-Inspection Facility Project in New Brunswick, a former manufacturing site. Both locations are adjacent to Amtrak's Northeast Corridor.
A second item is the Raritan River Drawbridge Replacement project, which spans the Raritan River as it enters its namesake bay, and is used by NJ Transit North Jersey Coast Line trains.
“These grants will allow for significant improvements in Middlesex County that will help modernize our infrastructure and keep us moving.,” Pallone said in a statement focusing on the two projects in his congressional district.
The three other projects targeted for funding include: filling in Long Slip, the historic terminus of a canal in Hoboken that flooded during Sandy, causing extensive damage to equipment stored at adjacent Hoboken Terminal, which routinely deals with flooding issues during less severe storms; new train signals and communication systems along the Main/Bergen, Morris and Essex lines, and Hudson-Bergen Light Rail (HBLR); and an electrical microgrid capable of delivering power to train lines during major storms, even if power to the rest of the Northeast Corridor (NEC) is interrupted.
New Jersey reportedly received nearly half the $3 billion available from FTA for Sandy repair and restoration.