NEWARK, NJ - U.S. Senators Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and Cory Booker (D-NJ) today announced that the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) has awarded a combined $235 million in federal grants to repair damage sustained by New Jersey Transit (NJT) and the Port Authority Trans-Hudson (PATH) rail systems during Superstorm Sandy.

"Sandy battered New Jersey, sending an unprecedented storm surge up New York Harbor and the Hudson and Hackensack Rivers that flooded PATH stations and tunnels and crippled NJT's Kearny rail yards," said Sen. Menendez, who chairs the Banking Subcommittee on Housing, Transportation, and Community Development with direct transit oversight. "These grants help pay to rebuild our state's vital public transit network without overburdening commuters. I will continue to fight for additional federal funding to ensure the Garden State recovers from Sandy, stronger and better than before the storm."

"I am pleased to join Senator Menendez in announcing grants that will help repair our public transit system for New Jerseyans and commuters who rely heavily on NJT and PATH to travel throughout our state," said Sen. Booker. "I look forward to working with my colleagues in the Senate as well as with the Department of Transportation to ensure that New Jersey receives the funding needed to invest, strengthen and restore our transit networks.

USDOT has awarded the following grants through the Federal Transit Administration's Public Transportation Emergency Relief Program to reimburse local entities for interim resilience measures, repairs and recovery work due to Superstorm Sandy:

  • Port Authority Trans-Hudson Corporation
    Grant Amount: $166,968,626.00
  • New Jersey Transit Corporation
    Grant Amount: $66,801,932.00

These grant awards will fortify New Jersey's public transportation systems. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) plans to use the federal funding for PATH's ongoing emergency relief program-including payment for past and ongoing recovery work-and new resiliency equipment and practices to improve resistance to future storm damage and ability to efficiently restore service following major storm events. They will also fund NJT's ready-to-implement projects: repair and restoration of Newark Light Rail and Hudson Bergen Light Rail Lines; Weehawken Ferry Terminal dredging; purchase of up to four fuel trucks; Gladstone catenary pole resiliency; and Interoperable Communications Center.

###