Wed June 22, 2022 – North East Edition
The Borough of Carteret has awarded a bid to Agate Construction for the installation of bulkheads along the Arthur Kill River – the first phase of the Carteret Ferry Terminal. (Map provided by the district of Carteret)
A ferry terminal will soon begin construction in New Jersey’s Middlesex County, designed to connect the Carteret borough to New York’s Staten Island and give New Jersey commuters more efficient access to New York.
Carteret awarded a bid on June 16 to Agate Construction, of nearby Clemont, to build phase 1 of the Carteret ferry terminal. The work includes the installation of partitions, of which 131 lin. feet of permanent tarpaulin “bulkhead” with a steel cap and an aluminum walkway, the County Borough of Middlesex announced in a press release.
When the initial phase is complete, it will pave the way for major construction work on the Carteret Ferry Terminal along the Arthur Kill Waterway, a tidal strait that separates the city of Staten Island from New York.
Once this partition is completed, the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) The Marine Resources Board will begin dredging approximately 19,500 cu. yards. equipment later this summer, followed by the Borough’s construction of waterside and landside improvements.
“We are excited to begin phase one of Carteret Ferry Terminal,” Mayor Dan Reiman said in the statement. “We have worked tirelessly to bring ferry service to Carteret so that our residents and area commuters can have a more direct and efficient route to downtown Manhattan and the Financial District.”
NJ Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin acknowledged the vital role the Carteret Ferry Terminal will play in the region’s transportation network.
“Diversifying and expanding our transportation network with this ferry service is essential to transforming the lives of residents of Carteret and surrounding communities, whose contributions are important in supporting the most economically productive region of our country here in the Northeast,” he said in a statement.
“With a partnership spanning the federal, state, county and city levels, it’s great to see this project clear its final hurdle. Soon, residents, local businesses and the regional economy will reap the benefits of this investment. thanks to Mayor Reiman’s vision.”
Carteret has worked hard to make the terminal a reality
To fund the project, Reiman’s administration provided more than $30 million in grants from federal and state governments to build the Carteret Ferry Terminal.
The ferry will provide a reliable, much faster and more environmentally friendly transportation service to New York – reducing travel times to Manhattan to less than an hour – while reducing traffic congestion on the tollway of New Jersey and the approaches to the Holland and Lincoln tunnels by getting more commuters out of their cars, the borough noted.
The Middlesex County Board of Commissioners has supported and partnered with the community in its efforts to bring a ferry service to Carteret.
“The [board] is pleased to work with Carteret to realize its vision to build a state-of-the-art ferry terminal,” said Ron Rios, Board Director and Carteret Resident. “The addition of this terminal will make Middlesex County one of the most connected areas in New Jersey, accessible by rail, bus, highways and soon by sea.”
Additional ferry benefits include:
- Reduce automobile dependency in a densely populated area conducive to the development of robust public transit service.
- Provide redundant transportation service in the event of an emergency or catastrophic event.
- Offer an affordable, accessible and dynamic transportation system adapted to current and future customers.
- Protection and improvement of the quality of the natural ecosystem and the human environment.
- Maintain and increase economic activity and competitiveness.
- Transforming an area of environmental degradation into a catalyst for economic development.
- Adapt to the continued population growth of Carteret and the region.
“Carteret is quickly becoming one of the most sought after locations for commuters,” Reiman said in the statement. “New residential and business opportunities, combined with our future ferry service, a new performing arts and events center, improved parks and stable tax rates make Carteret an ideal place to live, work and raise a family. family.”
The Carteret Ferry Terminal is part of a larger effort to transform the community’s waterfront into a popular regional destination, which now includes a fishing pier on Arthur Kill, a public park, a 185-berth marina , a future event center at the park, and a two-mile-long river walk funded by a grant from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s Office of Natural Resources Restoration (NJDEP).
According to Reiman, the nearly 2 mi. of public access along the east shore of Carteret, including its ferry, marina and river walk, is quite an achievement for a community that has had no public access to the waterfront for over 100 years. .
“While all permits are now in place and the necessary funding has been secured for two ferryboats, we will continue to seek additional funding for the intermodal terminal building itself, which would be the next phase of this project.” , he added.
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