(The following story by Larry Higgs appeared on the Asbury Park Press website on April 11.)
ASBURY PARK, N.J. — The $1 million-plus check for MOM is in the mail.
The $1.25 million for NJ Transit’s proposed Monmouth-Ocean-Middlesex light rail service is in the federal budget. The funds were secured by Reps. Christopher H. Smith and Jim Saxton, both R-N.J., who said the U.S. Department of Transportation will issue the grant.
The money will be used for the ongoing MOM line alternatives analysis program, which was included in the federal DOT’s budget as a result of the two lawmakers’ efforts to fund the project in 2005 as part of the federal Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act — A Legacy for Users. That act authorizes federal surface transportation programs through the end of 2009.
Smith and Saxton announced the grant in a prepared statement Wednesday.
Three routes are being considered for the MOM line, which would start in Lakehurst. The Monmouth Junction line would serve western Monmouth and three southern Middlesex towns before joining Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor line in South Brunswick. The proposed Red Bank route would join the North Jersey Coast Line in Red Bank, while the third option calls for laying tracks along the Henry Hudson Trail and joining the North Jersey Coast Line in Matawan.
Officials of Monmouth and Ocean counties have supported the Monmouth Junction line because it would serve western Monmouth and relieve traffic congestion on Route 9, while Middlesex County officials oppose that route, contending it will adversely affect three towns in the southern part of that county.
In February, Gov. Corzine told a Middlesex County audience at one of the town forums on his toll hike proposal that the Monmouth Junction line was not his preference for MOM. NJ Transit officials said they must continue studying the Monmouth Junction option or else federal officials would require that study to be done over.
In March, both Smith and Saxton asked Corzine to reconsider his opinion.
Ridership studies found that more people would ride trains using the Monmouth Junction Route, with service through the proposed new Hudson River Tunnel to New York.
“The MOM line is a critical project aimed at relieving congestion,” Smith said in a prepared statement. “The federal government’s continued commitment and funding will help move the MOM line forward.”
Smith and Saxton helped authorize the project in 2005 with legislation that allowed them to seek appropriations over six years.
“Chris and I feel that this is a worthwhile public transportation effort,” Saxton said. “This rail line could improve commuting and transportation systems by creating a rail service link between North Jersey and South Jersey. That could reduce cars on the roads, and give travelers an option to get to their destinations.”