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U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg unveiled $1.8 billion for 148 projects nationwide under the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) grant program. They bring the total Biden-Harris Administration RAISE grants to about $7 billion for more than 550 projects across the country.
New Jersey will receive $5,613,489 for the Intermodal Transportation Building project in the Borough of Carteret, Buttigieg said.
The nearly nine-acre waterfront project will fund the construction of an approximate 50,000-square-foot intermodal transportation building consisting of a passenger terminal and Port Authority office space.
The Carteret project site will connect to a 20-foot-wide elevated pedestrian boardwalk, fixed pier, floating docks, wave screen and handicap access ramp, officials said.
“This is a highly competitive grant to which towns, counties and states from all over the country, can apply and compete,” Carteret Mayor Dan Reiman said. “It’s an extremely difficult grant to obtain, so we are very grateful to President Biden and the U.S. Department of Transportation for investing infrastructure funds into this intermodal ferry terminal."
The Carteret Intermodal Transportation Building will provide access to several forms of alternative transportation. In addition to a ferry service to New York City, there will be a Borough jitney service and NJ Transit bus service, officials said.
Ferries would run between Carteret and NYC ferry terminals at World Financial Center and Midtown Manhattan at West 39th Street.
The building also will include an Educational Center that will act as a training hub for ferry staff, public amenities, such as a grab-and-go automated grocery store, quick service grille, casual dining restaurant and rooftop that offers views of the NYC skyline.
"For the first time in over a century, this project will open up waterfront access to the local community through the development of a new Ferry Terminal, envisioned as part of a broader plan to transform the waterfront with improved park access and connectivity for walkers, cyclists, and public transit users," the Transportation Department said in a press statement.
The federal grant supplements a $5 million state Department of Community Affairs grant awarded in April.
According to Reiman, this project would not be possible without implementing the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill championed by congressional leaders like U.S Rep. Frank Pallone.
The ferry terminal is part of a multi-year, $1.5 billion waterfront redevelopment plan. The plan includes private construction of a 500,000-square-foot film production studio and 150,000 square feet of retail and hotel space on private property next to the ferry terminal.
Buttigieg added: “Through President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we’re funding projects across the country to make roads safer, make it easier for people to move around their community, make transportation infrastructure more resilient to extreme weather, and improve supply chains to keep costs down for consumers.”
As in years past, the demand for RAISE funding outpaced available federal money, with the Transportation Department receiving almost $13 billion in requests for the $1.8 billion available this year, they said.
The full list of projects can be viewed by clicking here.
For more on the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law's investments across America, including state-by-state, click here.
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