(The Daily News posted the following article by Bill Farrell on its website on April 10.)
NEW YORK — A long-sought rail link between Staten Island’s Howland Hook marine terminal and New Jersey’s industrial shore across the Arthur Kill is about to become a reality.
Port Authority officials said the agency has committed $72.5 million to build a ship-to-rail cargo facility, scheduled to be completed in 2005. An additional $57 million has been committed by the bistate agency to build a new rail freight connection on Staten Island.
The city’s Economic Development Corp., which already has helped fund the restoration of the float bridge on the Arthur Kill, also will restore nearly 8 miles of track, from Fresh Kills to Union Ave. toward the east. The Port Authority has committed $34 million of the $50 million needed for that project.
“This is all part of our effort to move cargo by rail rather than by truck,” explained authority spokesman Steve Coleman. “This is all part of a broader plan for the entire port.”
According to Coleman, nearly 87 percent of cargo that moves through the port is loaded onto trucks.
“With rail and barge service, we can bring that percentage down to 55 percent,” Coleman said.
That reduction would not only dramatically reduce traffic on the Goethals Bridge in and out of Staten Island, but the transfer station also will increase cargo capacity.
“There is a real need,” Coleman said. “We had a portwide increase of 13 percent in cargo last year.”
Officials at Howland Hook can hardly wait for construction to get underway this year.
“This is something that will make us competitive with New Jersey,” said Howland Hook CEO Jim Devine. “It’s going to cut shipping costs when you can move cargo directly to rail.”
Now that the float bridge is again operational, Devine would like to see it go quickly back into use.
“I’m hoping the work can be done before 2005,” he said. “I’m hoping for late 2004.”
The new rail link plan also won praise from Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-Brooklyn, Manhattan), a member of the House Transportation Committee, who would like to see a rail freight tunnel built between Brooklyn and New Jersey.
“This is a good step in that some investment is finally being made in the port in New York,” Nadler said. “But I still believe Brooklyn is being overlooked.”
Nadler said the Kill van Kull, which provides access to Howland Hook, Port Newark and Port Elizabeth, must be dredged to 45 feet to accommodate the larger vessels of the future.
“There is no need to dredge in Brooklyn, which already has a deep channel,” Nadler said. “We should be looking at the whole port.”
On Staten Island, however, everyone is happy that the focus is on Howland Hook for now.
“This has been on the drawing board for a long time,” said Borough President James Molinaro. “This is a tremendous opportunity for Howland Hook, which is already the largest container port in New York State.
“This now broadens the potential for new jobs and new growth.”