HOBOKEN — As part of $1.5 billion in federal grants awarded to protect the state's transit systems, Hoboken Terminal will see $146 million to safeguard Hoboken, Weehawken and Jersey City from devastating flooding.
State and local officials on Friday touted the $1.5 million grants awarded by Federal Transit Administration on Thursday as a victory for New Jersey in preparing for future disasters like Hurricane Sandy. The funding will back 11 projects proposed by NJ Transit and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, including a $146 million project that aims to protect the Long Slip Canal, which played a significant role in flooding Hoboken Terminal during Hurricane Sandy.
"Right here, where we're all standing, was under water," Sen. Robert Menendez said during a press conference on Friday at the train station. "We saw first hand our vulnerability."
Officials said the grant money will be crucial in protecting Hoboken's southern end, as well as Weehawken and parts of Jersey City, since the Long Slip Canal —which runs just south of the transit center— proved to be one of the city's biggest vulnerabilities during Hurricane Sandy. Weehawken Mayor Richard Turner said filling in the canal and creating barriers against storm surges is crucial to protecting surrounding communities.
"We were all sweating it out," he said after the press conference," he said. "If you don't protect this, it floods us all out."
Protecting the canal is also an important aspect of planning the redevelopment of the Hoboken terminal and rail yards, Mayor Dawn Zimmer said after the press conference. The full redevelopment plans will be announced sometime this fall, she said.
The latest grant adds to the $230 million the city received as part of the Rebuild by Design resiliency competition in June. The city now has enough money to move forward with the "resist" phase of the Rebuild by Design project, which focuses on creating infrastructure and soft landscape to guard against storm surges, Zimmer said. The city will seek more funding in the future to move forward with the additional phases, which involved storing and discharging storm water, she said,
The transit-focused grants will fund 11 different projects, including a new microgrid to keep trains running when disaster strikes, as well a sea wall to protect the PATH Harrison Car Maintenance Facility. Sen. Cory Booker said that the funding was a sound investment in the state's future.
"We have a choice. We could seek to rebuild, which would leave us just as vulnerable as before, or we could build better," he said. "We in New Jersey are going to be investing and preparing for the future."
Kathryn Brenzel may be reached at kbrenzel@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @katiebrenzel. Find NJ.com on Facebook.