HOBOKEN–The Federal Transit Administration has awarded NJ Transit a $146 million grant to fund flood protection measures for the abandoned barge terminal just south of Hoboken’s Lackawanna Train Terminal, U.S. Senators Robert Menendez and Cory Booker (D-NJ) announced Wednesday. The grant is part of a new $1.5 billion package of Sandy relief aid that will go towards restoring and strengthening New Jersey’s transportation system.
“New Jersey took it on the chin during Superstorm Sandy,” said Menendez. “The record storm surge flooded out train stations, destroyed rail yards and crippled our public transit system that millions rely on everyday to get around…This critical federal funding will help ensure the Garden State recovers from Sandy, stronger and better than before the storm.”
The Long Slip Canal was one of two main entry points through which the Hurricane Sandy storm surge flooded Hoboken and its surrounding communities. Preventing future breaches through the Long Slip Canal and Weehawken Cove was one of the central goals of Hoboken’s winning proposal in the recent Rebuild By Design competition.
The final proposal, which was prepared for the Lower Hudson by a design team led by the Office for Metropolitan Architecture, said NJ Transit was seeking funding to fill the canal at an estimated cost of $110 million.
Menendez and Booker credited New Jersey’s U.S. House delegation for working closely in support of the new grants. “Superstorm Sandy was devastating to New Jersey’s communities, infrastructure, and economy,” said Rep. Albio Sires (NJ-08). “These grants will provide critical funding and help New Jersey rebuild.”
Mayor Zimmer has met with NJ Transit representatives in the past to formally request that the Long Slip Canal be hardened or eliminated. She also wrote a letter in support of NJ Transit’s FTA grant request, according to her spokesman Juan Melli.
Melli said one of the key results of Rebuild by Design’s multi-stakeholder process was “breaking down the silos of each agency getting funding for their own purposes,” rather than coordinating to achieve shared goals.
The new FTA tranche will also fund $37 million in improvements to the Exchange Place, Newport & Grove Street PATH Stations.