“With today’s step, NJ Transit is rapidly moving towards [sic] beginning the first phase of the largest infrastructure project in the United States,” said Gov. Phil Murphy. The award will “bring a bridge that would resolve the long-standing bottlenecks plaguing New Jersey commuters.”

The work planned for the 86-year-old, art deco-style structure has been highly sought after and lauded by local officials and business executives, who point out that the train station - along with Newark Liberty International Airport - is often one of the first sites national and international travelers see when they arrive in the Garden State.

Construction of the Transitway, a rail loop between Secaucus Junction and the Meadowlands Sports and Entertainment Complex, would stretch 7 miles and take into account things such as utlizing zero-emissions vehicles.

Effective mid-September, Brian Wilton​, who has been director of the Governor’s Authorities Unit since September 2018, will serve in the newly created position that was recommended as a high priority by the 2018 North Highland Audit.

Instead, the board said it would extend its 2021 fiscal year spending plan, though agency head Kevin Corbett said it is doing so on borrowed time.

Request for Proposals were released to four finalists seeking to design the 12-acre site's mixed-use project.

As of April 22, the agency reached the threshold of personnel it needed, 390, with 393 in total; a level the agency hadn’t met in a decade.