(The following article by John Cichowski appeared at NorthJersey.com on September 25.)
HACKENSACK, N.J. — The state’s transit chief brought some unanticipated optimism Wednesday to long-suffering commuters through Morris County, particularly those who travel east from as far as Pennsylvania
George Warrington estimated that engineering and construction on the Lackawanna Cutoff, the long-delayed $225 million passenger rail line designed to ease rush-hour traffic on Route 80, will likely get under way in three to five years.
“Federal environmental evaluations should be wrapped up in 2004, and then it’s just a matter of formal hearings and getting a [federal] rating for the project,” Warrington, executive director of NJ Transit, told the Board of Freeholders in a 30-minute speech.
The transit chief also said he favored the addition of a rail station near Mennen Arena in Morris Township, a plan long supported by the freeholders. But a decision on that project is still months away, he warned.
The cutoff, however, is “a major priority,” Warrington said.
His optimism came in stark contrast to the wait-and-see attitude of former state Transportation Commissioner James P. Fox, who offered little hope 14 months ago for obtaining the federal funding for the rail link. The cutoff, a former freight line, is designed to bring commuters from Scranton, Pa., to Morris and eventually to link with NJ Transit commuter lines that end in Hoboken.
Warrington’s comments appeared to catch county officials by surprise because cash-strapped NJ Transit has made it clear that it is concentrating its limited mass-transit resources on existing infrastructure. In listing his agency’s priorities for the freeholders, Warrington rated construction of two rail tunnels beneath the Hudson River from Newark to Manhattan as “the top of the list.”
Despite that caveat, the cutoff project remains a high priority because of its potential for massive federal funding, once estimated at $200 million but now believed to be closer to $225 million to $235 million.
When built, the cutoff would reduce slow-moving, rush-hour traffic on Route 80 by about 4,000 cars, said Frank Reilly, the county’s transportation management director.
In 2001, the state bought 28 miles of right-of-way for the project for $21 million. This link stretches from Lake Hopatcong to the Pennsylvania border at Slateford. The line, which continues northwest to Scranton, would provide an alternate means of travel for Pennsylvanians who use Route 80 to commute to New Jersey, Reilly said.
The state supports the cutoff because rail service can be provided for as little as one-seventh the cost of building new highways. Reilly said the federal government would fund at least 60 percent of the project, with New Jersey and Pennsylvania providing the balance.
Since Congress generally favors multiple-state rail projects, Reilly said, the project stands an “excellent chance” to be rated highly for funding next year.
Warrington said he was impressed with plans for an NJ Transit station at Mennen Arena when he toured the site, but he noted one glaring flaw.
“There’s a very steep grade to the railroad there,” he said, “and we would have to make it accessible for the disabled, so it’s going to be very expensive.”
He noted that state transit engineers are evaluating the plan and will make a decision soon.
“We’re trying to get kids to use mass transit, and lots of kids use Mennen Arena to skate,” said Freeholder Frank Druetzler, the mayor of neighboring Morris Plains. “It’s also near the Historic Speedwell museum where the telegraph was invented, and the location is part of a thriving neighborhood, so the station will be used. All it takes is some engineering.”