Carteret received $5.6 million in funding for its planned Carteret Intermodal Transportation Building project as part of $1.8 billion round of grant awards from the U.S. Department of Transportation.

The funding comes via the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) grant program.

As NJBIZ has reported, the project will include a 47,000-square-foot hub providing access to several forms of transportation, such as ferry service to Manhattan, a Borough jitney service, NJ Transit bus service, bicycling and walking. It will also feature an Educational Center that will serve as a training hub for ferry staff. Amenities include a grab-and-go automated grocery store, quick service grille as well as casual dining restaurant and rooftop with sweeping views of the New York City skyline.

“This project will fund the construction of an approximate 50,000-square-foot intermodal transportation building with three full stories on approximately 8.67 acres at its waterfront,” the USDOT wrote in its description of the RAISE grant award. “The project site will include a mixed-use intermodal transportation center consisting of a passenger terminal and Port Authority office space. The project site will also connect to a 20-foot-wide elevated pedestrian boardwalk, fixed pier, floating docks, wave screen, and handicap access ramp.”

With this funding, Carteret Mayor Daniel Reiman’s administration has secured more than $70 million in federal and state grants for the project. The effort is part of a broader, multiyear $1.5 billion redevelopment plan to transform the Borough’s waterfront into a regional transportation, economic and recreational hub and destination.

In addition to the already completed Waterfront Park, Veteran’s Pier, Carteret Municipal Marina and the forthcoming ferry terminal, the waterfront redevelopment will also include construction of a 500,000-square-foot film production studio and 150,000 square feet of ancillary retail and hotel space adjacent to the ferry terminal.

New opportunities

“This is a highly competitive grant to which towns, counties, and states from all over the country, can apply and compete,” said Reiman. “It’s an extremely difficult grant to obtain, so we are very grateful to President [Joe] Biden and the U.S. Department of Transportation for investing infrastructure funds into this intermodal ferry terminal. This program would not be possible without the implementation of the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill championed by Congressional leaders like Frank Pallone.”

“This is an extremely important project because it will help reduce congestion going to and from New York City and provide thousands of people in the region a more convenient way to commute,” said U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone, D-6th District. “This new facility will bolster economic opportunities in Carteret and the surrounding area, acting as a vital hub for economic activity for the city. And it will be held up as a model for other communities looking to offer cleaner and better-connected modes of transportation for their municipalities.”

“After decades of underinvestment, the condition of New Jersey’s infrastructure is now finally getting better instead of worse – and today we proudly announce our support for 148 more projects in communities across the country, including Carteret,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “Through President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we’re funding projects across the country to make roads safer, make it easier for people to move around their community, make transportation infrastructure more resilient to extreme weather – and improve supply chains to keep costs down for customers.”

Reiman said this is truly an exciting time for Carteret. He noted that the Borough recently awarded contracts for the next phases of both in-water and uplands construction of the forthcoming terminal, following the bulkhead completion in October 2022 and New Jersey Department of Transportation Office of Maritime Resources’ completion of dredging in January 2023.

“After years of studies and permitting through what seems like the endless bureaucracy of government agencies, we will soon reinstate ferry service which will safely and efficiently deliver commuters from Carteret and the surrounding area every day to New York City,” said Reiman.