(The following story appeared on the Colts Neck News Transcript website on April 30.)
FREEHOLD, N.J. — Monmouth County officials have submitted a request to U.S. senators Frank Lautenberg and Robert Menendez for the $1.5 million needed to complete the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) so the Monmouth Ocean-Middlesex (MOM) rail project can move toward the preliminary engineering and design stage.
“Completion of this study is necessary before one of three rail options is chosen,” Freeholder Director Lillian G. Burry said. “Monmouth County favors the Monmouth Junction (South Brunswick) route, which would deliver much-needed passenger rail service to western Monmouth County and into Middlesex and Ocean counties. It is the route that will provide the best relief for our congested roads.”
According to a press release from the county, the Board of Freeholders adopted a resolution Feb. 14 supporting the Monmouth Junction alignment.
During the past several decades there has been a significant migration of people residing in the older, urban areas of northern New Jersey south, to Monmouth, Ocean and Middlesex counties. Many of these residents continue to work in the urban areas to the north, placing significant demand on existing mass transit services and highways, according to the press release. While rail transportation facilities exist, they leave a wide area of the impacted counties without direct rail service. Moreover, the significant residential and business growth in the region has led to severe traffic congestion on regional roads.
Recent studies by NJ Transit showed that the Monmouth Junction line would have many more rail riders than any of the other lines being studied. Furthermore, the Monmouth Junction alignment will offer the most passenger destinations, reduce more congestion, provide the greatest economic benefits, best serves the State Development and Redevelopment Plan’s Smart Growth Areas to reduce air pollution, and will provide rail to underserved markets in the region, according to the press release.
The 2030 projected combined population of Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean counties is 2,411,200 (958,900 in Middlesex, 713,000 in Monmouth, and 739,300 in Ocean). Based on NJ Transit’s preliminary findings, the project would provide passenger rail service to as many as 33,000 riders per day.
From a national perspective, this mass transit investment would provide direct access to Newark Liberty International Airport and connections to Amtrak trains. Regionally, the project will allow commuters to access more than 100 destinations, including inter-modal sites such as light rail and the Secaucus Transfer Station, academic institutions, retail venues, medical centers, major employment hubs, and cultural and sporting attractions.