Federal and state grants will cover cost
of concrete pier, floating dock, gangways, ramps, staircase & more
CARTERET, NJ – Mayor Daniel J. Reiman has announced that the Borough has gone out to bid for the next phase of the ferry terminal and Carteret Intermodal Transportation Building on a remediated seven-acre site formerly operated by DuPont Chemical.
In the wake of state Department of Transportation design approvals, construction of a ferry terminal will include an in-water fixed pier, floating docks for passenger loading and unloading, connecting gangways, timber ramps, a wave screen, and steel piles. A timber staircase will connect the floating dock with the ferry boat, and two parallel aluminum gangways will connect the fixed pier to the floating dock. Funding will be pulled from grants from NJDOT, U.S. Department of Environmental Protection, and Federal Transit Authority.
A fixed pier will be 25-feet long by 16-feet wide, and the floating dock will be 40-feet long by 40-feet wide with gangways measuring 65-feet long by 5-feet wide. A design is in the works, Mayor Reiman said.
The upland phase is expected to start as soon as possible with the construction of a 700-space parking lot that will include lighting, utilities and, to mitigate storm water runoff, inlets, porous pavement, and high density polyethylene and reinforced concrete pipes.
The Reiman administration has secured $48 million from various funding sources for the ferry project, including a Federal Transit Administration grant and a 2023 Congressional appropriation.
Contract documents and plans for the proposed ferry terminal work will be made available electronically or at the office of consulting engineers T&M Associates at 11 Tindall Road in Middletown. Interested bidders must send an email request to psirico@tandmassociates.com.
Pending FTA review, finals designs will begin for the Intermodal Transportation Building, which will include a bar, lounge, restaurant, restrooms, ticketing area, office space, and banquet hall, Mayor Reiman said.
The Reiman Administration began to study the feasibility of a ferry project about 15 years ago.
The bulkhead for the ferry terminal was completed last October. NJDOT Office Maritime Resources completed the dredging in the second week in January.
The forthcoming ferry has triggered interest in two hotel groups to operate full-scale hotels within the waterfront redevelopment area. One is part of Carteret Stages, a designated and approved $1 billion waterfront redevelopment project that also includes 500,000 square feet of studio soundstage and film production facilities, as well as commercial and office space, restaurants, retail, and a 1,200-car parking garage.
Updates about the Carteret ferry project and waterfront will be available at Carteret.net or by following @MyCarteret on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
The Borough of Carteret goes out to bid Oct. 30 for waterside improvements to the forthcoming ferry terminal.
