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On Oct. 9, New Jersey Transit’s board approved measures to improve South Amboy Train Station’s accessibility and safety, and begin plans to expand and enhance core capacity between New York and New Jersey.



For South Amboy, the board awarded $227,314 to Vollmer and Associates to provide construction assistance, and authorized another contract award to the lowest responsive and responsible bidder for accessibility upgrades.



The project’s first phase would comprise adding a 16-foot pedestrian overpass and two elevators, linking the existing parking lot on one side of the tracks with a new transit plaza on the other.



Work already completed at the station includes replacing pedestrian warning signs with larger ones, and installing flashing and audible alerts to advise people that trains are approaching.



Board members also authorized Executive Director George Warrington to enter into an agreement with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to coordinate development of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Access to the Region’s Core Study (ARC), which would include a second trans-Hudson River rail crossing.



"With the overwhelming change in Sept. 11 commuter patterns — combined with additional trains, the recent opening of MidTOWN DIRECT-Montclair and the future opening of Secaucus Transfer — it would be irresponsible for us not to plan for the future," said Warrington in a prepared statement.



The ARC study would analyze the potential for a new two-track tunnel under the Hudson River, doubling the number of trains that could run to and from Penn Station New York. The ARC’s EIS would pursue further analysis and conceptual engineering of project components; identify a phased implementation plan to provide near-term relief and long-term expansion of the system’s capacity; and provide an environmental analysis and public outreach leading to the preparation of a draft environmental impact statement (DEIS).



The DEIS, scheduled for completion in winter 2004 - 2005, would aid NJ Transit’s efforts to obtain federal funding. Officials project the new tunnel to cost between $4 billion and $5 billion.