(The following report from Gannett News Service appeared on the Asbury Park Press website on April 24.)
WOODBRIDGE, N.J. — New Jersey Transportation Commissioner Kris Kolluri and NJ Transit Executive Director Richard Sarles broke ground Monday on a $47 million project to rebuild Metropark Station on the Northeast Corridor.
The project, which is expected to be completed in early 2010, is funded by state and federal sources.
Originally designed as a suburban stop for Amtrak Metroliner trains, Metropark became New Jersey’s first “park and ride” station when it opened on Nov. 11, 1971. Today, Metropark is the busiest outlying (non-terminal) station in the NJ Transit commuter rail network, accommodating 4 million passenger trips each year 14,200 NJ Transit customers and 1,000 Amtrak customers each weekday.
The Metropark project is the second major NJ Transit capital investment in Woodbridge in as many years.
A $23 million rehabilitation project at Woodbridge Station on the North Jersey Coast Line was launched in the fall of 2005 and completed this spring.
Together, the projects represent a $70 million investment, benefiting nearly 9,000 NJ Transit customers.
Work on Metropark platforms, station building and other components will be conducted in phases to allow the station to remain open to minimize inconvenience to customers. Each weekday 106 NJ Transit trains and another 47 Amtrak trains stop or pass through.
Project elements include:
New longer, wider platforms able to accommodate 12-car trains.
Heated and air-conditioned platform shelters.
Expanded station building with a second vendor space and larger waiting room.
New pedestrian link from Route 27 to the westbound station platform to provide safer, more convenient access for area residents.