I. SUMMARY OF PHASE I PROJECT DESCRIPTIONS
Wittpenn Bridge Replacement
Project Description: Addresses a major choke point by replacing the existing Wittpenn with a new vertical-lift bridge on a new alignment. Ten-foot travel lanes will be replaced with 12-foot wide lanes, along with opposing travel lanes now separated and other improvements.
Location: Kearny and Jersey City in Hudson County
Transportation Modes: Truck, Port
Role in the Liberty Corridor: Improves mobility and access to/from Port terminals along critical freight corridors and to brownfields and underutilized properties.
Related Economic Development:
· Improves connectivity to underutilized brownfield properties, including the Koppers Coke, Standard Chlorine and Diamond Shamrock properties.
· Optimizes our existing transportation system by addressing choke points.
Innovative Aspects:
· Improves connectivity between underutilized properties and the Port.
· Optimizes our existing transportation system by addressing choke points.
Total Project Cost: $91 million
Funding Partnerships: $10 million from the Liberty Corridor and the remainder from federal funding mechanisms.
Project Start/Completion Date: Construction would begin in the fall of 2009 and conclude in 2011.
Project Lead: New Jersey Department of Transportation
North Jersey Railroad Doublestack Clearance/National Docks
Project Description: Improves vertical clearances on two tunnels on the Conrail railroad route between the Port of New York and New Jersey and the CSX mainline serving the US rail network. The Bergen and Waldo tunnels currently limit the height of Intermodal container trains to 19-ft./2-in. The improvements will allow passage of industry standard intermodal container trains of 20-ft./2-in. in height
Location: Jersey City in Hudson County
Transportation Modes: Rail, Maritime, Truck
Role in the Liberty Corridor: Sustains and grows the Port’s and the region’s ability to competitively move and receive products by increasing the vertical clearances on two rail tunnels that connect New Jersey to the rest of the North American rail system.
Related Economic Development: Supports private investment in maritime terminals at Port Newark/Elizabeth.
Innovative Aspects: Enhances an existing rail connection to provide an alternative to trucks for the short- and long-distance movement of containers.
Total Project Cost: $24 million
Funding Partnerships:
The Liberty Corridor would provide $12 million or half of the expenditure and will accelerate the start date of the project’s construction. CSX Railroad will provide the remaining funding or $12 million.
Project Start/Completion Date: Final design work will start in 2007. Construction anticipated to be completed in 2009 and will be undertaken in a manner that will allow the rail line to continue in operation during this time.
Project Lead: New Jersey Department of Transportation
Port Reading Junction
Project Description: Addresses a major choke point in the region’s rail system by reconfiguring the Port Reading Junction to provide double track train operations between CSX- West Trenton line and Norfolk Southern - Lehigh line. This improves the efficiency of train operation and optimizes the current Lehigh line double tracking project.
Location: Physically located in Somerset County and affects rail freight traffic throughout the Liberty Corridor.
Transportation Modes: Rail, Port
Role in the Liberty Corridor:
· Sustains and grows the Port’s and the region’s ability to move and receive products inland by alleviating a structural chokepoint where New Jersey connects to the rest of the North American rail system.
· Supports New Jersey businesses that use this route to receive ethanol shipments.
Related Economic Development:
· Supports private investment in maritime terminals at the Port Newark/Elizabeth and the New York Container Terminal in Staten Island.
· Improves service for other rail freight customers in the Liberty Corridor area.
Innovative Aspects: Optimizes the existing rail system that connects the Liberty Corridor area to North America by addressing a chokepoint.
Total Project Cost: $13.4 million
Funding Partnerships: The Liberty Corridor would provide $5.0 million and will accelerate the start date of the project’s construction. CSX and Norfolk Southern will provide the remaining funding.
Project Start/Completion Date: Construction will start in 2008 and conclude in 2009.
Project Lead: New Jersey Department of Transportation
Tremley Point Connector Road
Project Description: Provides access from the New Jersey Turnpike Interchange 12 through Carteret, NJ, over the Rahway River, and into Tremley Point in Linden, NJ.
Location: Carteret inMiddlesex County and Linden in Union County
Transportation Modes: Trucks and passenger vehicles.
Role in the Liberty Corridor: Provides direct access between the New Jersey Turnpike and Tremley Point, a strategic site of approximately400 acres of brownfields in southeastern Union County near Port Newark/Elizabeth.
Related Economic Development:
· Provides direct Turnpike access for two designated Portfields sites – Tremley Point in Union County and the Carteret International Trade and Logistics Center (I-Port 12) Development in Middlesex County.
· Facilitates development of over 6 million square feet of industrial space and approximately 2,000 new jobs.
Innovative Aspects: Supports the redevelopment of brownfields and the potential development of Tremley Point as a multimodal freight village that also involves rail, barging and value added warehousing/distribution centers.
Total Project Cost: $92 million
Funding Partnerships: The Liberty Corridor would contribute $10 million or 12% of the funding for the Connector Road. The remainder of the funding, or $82 million, will be provided by the New Jersey Turnpike Authority. The New Jersey Turnpike Authority is also investing $155 million in improvements to Interchange 12 to address existing congestion and capacity issues as well as the new development anticipated to occur in the surrounding area. Additionally, $2.2 million of SAFETEA-LU High Priority Project funding is being used to develop access to I-Port 12.
Project Start/Completion Date: Anticipated to begin in 2009 and be in completed 2011.
Project Lead: New Jersey Turnpike Authority
North Avenue Corridor Project – Phase I
Project Description: The North Avenue corridor is one of the most critical transportation and commercial corridors in the State – one-third of the truck traffic to and from the Port travels in this corridor, along with customers for IKEA, Jersey Gardens Mall, several hotels and other commercial development.
Location: Elizabeth inUnion County
Transportation Modes: Truck, Maritime, Aviation
Role in the Liberty Corridor:
· Separates truck traffic for the Port and Airport from passenger traffic for retail, hotel and other land uses in the area.
· Improves access to Port Newark/Elizabeth and Newark Liberty International Airport via Route 1/9 and the New Jersey Turnpike.
Related Economic Development:
· Supports private investment in maritime terminals at Port Newark/Elizabeth.
· Enables diverse land uses, including the Port, warehouses, IKEA, Jersey Gardens, and hotels, to coexist and thrive.
Innovative Aspects:
·
Separates access to support diverse land uses.
· Leverages available off-airport sites to support cargo activities at land constrained Newark Liberty International Airport.
Total Project Cost: $224 million
Funding Partnerships: Funding from organizations within the Liberty Corridor includes $169 million from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and $45 million from the New Jersey Turnpike Authority. The Liberty Corridor contributes $10 million to the project, enabling it to proceed.
Project Start/Completion Date: Construction is expected to start in 2008 and be completed in 2012.
Project Lead: Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
Route 35/36 in Eatontown, NJ
Project Description: Improves access to Fort Monmouth and other locations via Route 35/36.
Location: Eatontown, Monmouth County
Transportation Modes: Passenger Vehicles
Role in the Liberty Corridor:
· Improves access to the Fort Monmouth via Route 35/36 in Eatontown, NJ.
· Migrates the high technology/innovation companies and workforce at Fort Monmouth, which is proposed to be closed, to private sector enterprise and advances New Jersey’s expertise and business in these growth industries.
· Builds on what we have, making full use of our unique concentration of high technology resources.
Related Economic Development: Public and private investment and support to shift high technology and research businesses and workforce to private sector enterprises with the possible closure of this military base.
Innovative Aspects: Preserves and enhances our high technology resources and businesses.
Total Project Cost: $22.85 million
Funding Partnerships: The Liberty Corridor provides $15 million towards this project. $3.9 million of federal funding and $3.5 million from the New