WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senators Bob Menendez and Cory Booker, as well as Congressmen Frank Pallone (N.J.-06), Bill Pascrell (N.J.-09), Albio Sires (N.J.-08) and Donald Payne, Jr. (N.J.-10), today announced a combined $458,635,200 in federal Sandy relief grants from the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) to rebuild and make New Jersey’s transit network more resilient to future natural disasters.

"Two years after Sandy, much work is still left to do to rebuild and make our state more resilient," said Sen. Menendez. "These grant awards help keep our state on its path to full recovery from Superstorm Sandy and ensure we come back stronger to withstand the next storm."

"New Jersey's transportation infrastructure is critical to our state's economy,” said Sen. Booker. "This federal funding is important to the rebuilding of NJ Transit and Port Authority infrastructure that was damaged during Superstorm Sandy, making it stronger and more resilient. Improving vital arteries such as these are necessary for growing the economy and supporting jobs throughout our state."

The funding announced today is part of a $3.7 Billion Second Round of Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Sandy relief for public transit needs allocated in May 2013.

• $147,086,600 New Jersey Transit (NJT)
To fund the replacement and raising of signal and communications systems

• $311,548,600 Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ)
To further fund the Salt Mitigation Program in the PATH tunnels

“A strong transportation system is critical to our economy and to our daily lives here in New Jersey,” said Rep. Pallone. “As we continue to rebuild in the years after Superstorm Sandy, we have a unique opportunity to improve the public infrastructure in our state so that it is stronger and able to withstand future storms. These grants will allow for significant improvements that will help modernize our infrastructure and keep us moving.”

“Repairing our mass transit system is vital to the thousands of commuters that help drive New Jersey’s economy,” said Rep. Bill Pascrell. “These federal funds will help ensure New Jersey Transit works better, the PATH tubes are rebuilt stronger, commuters can ingress and egress at their local stations, and allow our state to be more resilient to future disasters. We simply can't afford to leave these critical transportation networks unprotected to future disasters."

“As we saw with Sandy, even our most robust infrastructure is fallible. Investing in resiliency projects increases community preparedness so that when the next storm hits, our infrastructure will be strong enough to weather the storm,” Rep. Sires said.

“Over two years have passed since Sandy devastated New Jersey, and we still have a long way to go to recover,” said Rep. Payne, Jr. “Thousands of claims from Sandy victims still have not been resolved, and many New Jersey families remain displaced. These grants are critical to continued recovery efforts to enhance our transit infrastructure and strengthen our communities against future disasters.”

The President signed the Superstorm Sandy Supplemental Appropriations bill into law two years ago, bringing the total Sandy aid enacted by Congress to $60.2 billion. The funding package included federal aid to help homeowners, businesses, and communities recover, and resources to rebuild coastal, transportation, and water infrastructure

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