N.J. city aims for new NYC ferry as project gets $5M boost from feds

July 21, 2020

Millions of federal dollars will flow to Middlesex County to help bring a new ferry service to life.

On Monday, U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone, D-6th Dist., announced that the U.S. Department of Transportation will grant $5.3 million to South Amboy for a ferry service between the Raritan Bay city and downtown Manhattan.

The money, which comes from the DOT’s Passenger Ferry Grant program, will be used to help build a new ferry terminal in South Amboy.

The proposed 20,000-square-foot facility will be able to handle up to three ferries and will have 700 parking spaces, including some with chargers for electric vehicles. Once ferry service is operational, South Amboy — which is on NJ Transit’s North Jersey Coast Line — will be the only place in New Jersey to offer ferry and rail services within walking distance of each other, according to the city.

“This is great news for New Jersey and for commuters who rely on passenger ferries every day. This funding will go a long way to ensure that our transportation infrastructure is able to accommodate the increased demand in ferry service and will help reduce vehicle traffic between New Jersey and Manhattan,” Pallone said.

South Amboy Mayor Fred Henry said in a statement that the city has been working for permanent ferry service for about two decades, and he thanked Pallone for helping to secure these new funds.

“This ambitious project has not been without complications,” Henry said. “However, we are finally able to move forward with construction of this major transportation improvement that will benefit our residents, and the residents of Middlesex County.”

The ferry terminal will be a two-story building, and city officials hope the second story will attract a restaurant to take advantage of the space with waterfront views. The terminal will be alongside the Manhattan Beach Club, a 1,875-unit luxury apartment complex that is currently under development.

The push for a ferry terminal in South Amboy has been underway since the 1990s, when the city received an $18 million federal grant to get started on the project, according to MyCentralJersey.com.

Ferries have been part of South Amboy area since the late 1600s. In the wake of the September 11th attacks, a temporary ferry service ran between South Amboy and Manhattan from 2002 to 2006.

The new ferry terminal project has had progress slowed by environmental remediation at the waterfront site, which Glenn Skarzynski, South Amboy’s business administrator, told NJ Advance Media had previously been heavily contaminated.

The discovery of historic artifacts related to the Camden and Amboy Railroad, one of the nation’s earliest rail lines, at the site also delayed the ferry terminal project. The railroad previously operated at the site in the 1800s. Henry said the new ferry terminal would incorporate some of the artifacts into its design.

“While we always have to look to accommodate our needs for the future, we don’t want to neglect the role the city has played as a transportation hub in the past,” Henry said.

Now the ferry terminal has gotten every approval it needs except one from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Skarzynski said. He added that the Army Corps is currently reviewing the plans for the project.

“It’s our hope and expectation to be out to bid before the end of the year, to have construction begin,” Skarzynski said.

South Amboy officials expect that the new DOT grant will cover the majority of construction costs for the terminal.

“We’ve got enough to move forward, and by the time we’re done, if there’s a remaining small balance we’ll make accommodations for that,” Skarzenski said.

No company has yet been selected to serve as the ferry operator for the routes running to and from South Amboy.

Skarzynski added that South Amboy expects ferry service to be operational in less than a year from now, while complete construction of the terminal should be done within 18 months.

Currently, ferries to New York City operate out of Jersey City, Hoboken, Weehawken, Edgewater, Highlands, Atlantic Highlands, and the Belford section of Middletown. Carteret has also proposed a ferry to the city.

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N.J. city aims for new NYC ferry as project gets $5M boost from feds

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N.J. city aims for new NYC ferry as project gets $5M boost from feds

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