Officials
from the Norfolk & Southern rail
company met with Mayor Dennis Elwell, members of the New Jersey Turnpike
Authority, and Jamie Fox, commissioner of the New Jersey Department of
Transportation, last week to work a solution to an apparent impasse involving
the southern end of Secaucus.
Expansion plans for the Croxton rail yards in Jersey City near the Secaucus border were halted after Elwell – in his capacity has chairman of the Hackensack Meadowlands Mayors’ Committee – vetoed the project recently.
Norfolk & Southern is one of the country’s four remaining freight rail companies. It wants to expand the freight train yard in Jersey City near the Secaucus border, with the company itself having acquired a little more than half of Conrail two years ago.
The New Jersey Meadowlands Commission voted to approve the expansion of the Croxton yard earlier this year, but according to an agreement with various municipalities, the mayor’s committee has a right to veto such a proposal.
Although the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission – though which approvals for the project must be made – has the power to override the veto, delays in the project have forced federal and state officials to take a closer look at the situation.
In vetoing the plans, Elwell said substantial improvements to a rail crossing and other traffic changes must be made before he could support any expansion of the rail company’s operation.
“We’re trying to find a way to fund the construction of a grade separation for New County Road,” Elwell said.
A grade separation is a bridge that allows traffic to move over or under existing train tracks. Because train traffic is constantly moving in and out of the Croxton Yards, it crosses over New County Road, blocking access to the southern most parts of Secaucus.
Over the last two years, ongoing improvements have snarled traffic moving in and out of southern end of Secaucus. Last year, Hudson County instituted a study of the area and concluded that bridges were needed over rail crossings in order to accommodate traffic in and out of the Southern section of Secaucus. South Secaucus according to County Engineer Bob Jasek has been experiencing steady development without a major transportation problem, yet over the last several years, the situation has worsened with several extremely large projects slated for the area. Without substantial road improvements to the area, the expansion of the rail yard will also increase the number of heavy trucks traveling through the residential sections of Secaucus, Elwell said.
Estimates show this could be as high as 1,800 additional truck trips per day.