State transportation officials are eyeing a potential light rail that would connect the Secaucus Junction train station with Meadowlands entertainment hubs such as the American Dream Mall and MetLife Stadium.
The light rail would be built alongside the new Route 3 bridge replacement project over the Hackensack River – funded by the Biden team’s $1.2 trillion infrastructure package – according to New Jersey Transportation Commissioner Diane Gutierrez-Scaccetti.
New concrete piers to support the Route 3 replacement would also have the added capacity for a light rail, she said at a Jan. 25 event in the Meadowlands where the new bridge was announced.
“That is in and of itself a potential game-changer. Obviously relieving a lot of the traffic in MetLife in the American Dream … obviously linking in and relieving a lot of the traffic” Gov. Phil Murphy said at the same event.
Gov. Phil Murphy, U.S Rep. Bill Pascrell and President Joe Biden deliver remarks at the Build Back Better event and Infrastructure deal at the NJ Transit Meadowlands Maintenance Complex in Kearny on Oct. 25, 2021. –
NJ Transit operates a rail line between the Meadowlands and Secaucus Junction for major events. The beleaguered statewide agency came under fire for fiascos that stranded 12,000 Wrestlemania fans at MetLife Stadium in 2019 and tens of thousands at the stadium following Super Bowl XLVII in 2014.
Local and state transportation officials have for years eyed how to build up public transit capacity in the Meadowlands, thanks to the addition of the American Dream Mall, the popularity of MetLife stadium, and the potential for the stadium to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
It’s not clear whether state transportation officials envision such a project would be finished ahead of the World Cup event. Murphy’s office and the state transportation department did not immediately return emails seeking additional comment.
Other plans for the Meadowlands region include the construction of a potential 460,000-square-foot convention center that could lure business away from the more expensive Jacob Javits Center in nearby Manhattan.
That same October proposal from the Meadowlands 2040 Foundation, also called for upwards of 4,500 hotel rooms within walking distance of the sports complex.
The exact timeline of such a light rail is still up in the air, but Gutierrez-Scaccetti said the state is looking at a five-year window for the planning and construction of the Route 3 bridge. The light rail’s construction and operation, she said, would likely be done by a private business rather than the state.
“This is exactly what we need … creative ways to do a secondary means of transportation from Secaucus transfer into the sports complex and American Dream,” said Jim Kirkos, president of the Meadowlands Regional Chamber of Commerce, in a Tuesday phone interview.
So far, the American Dream Mall has avoided the “traffic Armageddon” that was widely feared when the mall first opened. But, he maintained, high-demand times in the year, like when “you have a concert the same weekend as a big horse race and then American Dream going,” would necessitate this added option.
