Light Rail Project Completed

Service was inaugurated on a new leg of New Jersey Transit's Hudson-Bergen Light Rail Transit system in Bayonne, N.J. The one-mile extension of the light rail system, from 34th Street to 22nd Street, opened on Nov. 15 during a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

The Hudson-Bergen Light Rail now operates between 22nd Street in Bayonne and the Hoboken Terminal, a total distance of 10.5 miles. Construction is proceeding on a segment from the Hoboken Terminal north to Tonnelle Avenue in North Bergen, which includes a 4,100-foot-long existing rail tunnel in Weehawken that is being renovated for light rail use. The tunnel was previously used by Conrail for rail freight. Project completion is scheduled for 2005.

Goethals Bridge Undergoing Environmental Review

The Port Authority has taken the first major step that will help determine the future of the 75-year-old Goethals Bridge by seeking proposals from consultants interested in preparing an environmental review.

The selected consultant will work closely with the U.S. Coast Guard - the lead agency on the environmental review - to prepare an environmental impact statement. It is estimated that the environmental review process will take approximately three years.

The Port Authority is seeking an experienced environmental consultant to review options and recommend a preferred alternative to upgrade and modernize the bridge, which has increasingly required priority repairs and maintenance.

The selection of a preferred alternative as part of the environmental review will help improve customer service, modernize the bridge, provide potential capacity for transit options and enhance safety and reliability for those using the crossing. The process will include extensive opportunities for public comment, beginning with a public scoping and external outreach process.

Federal Funding Supports Port Projects

Critical channel-deepening and environmental projects at the Port of New York and New Jersey will continue to advance under a funding bill approved by Congress. The deeper channels will allow new, larger ships to enter the harbor, maintaining the port's competitive edge as the leading port on the east coast of North America.

The fiscal year 2004 Energy and Water Development appropriations bill, which funds U.S. Army Corps of Engineers civil works projects, includes $110 million for channel-deepening projects in the port. The funding will allow for the continuation of federal channel-deepening projects under construction in the Kill van Kull-Newark Bay, the Arthur Kill and Port Jersey channels. Another $19.2 million was appropriated for ongoing federal channel maintenance dredging projects..

Work Begins on I-95 Lane Widening

Work on the I-95 New Haven Harbor Crossing Corridor improvement project began after the contract was awarded to O & G Industries of Torrington, Conn. The contract is valued at $41.8 million.

The project includes the widening of I-95 to three travel lanes in each direction with full inside and outside shoulders, the installation of median concrete barriers and improvements to interchanges between the eastern end of the Lake Saltonstall Bridge and the New Haven/East Haven town line.

Construction is expected to take approximately two years to complete. In addition to the widening of I-95, five existing structures will be reconstructed and widened to facilitate the I-95 improvements.