Passing For Knowledge

The Bergen Arches

Take a look through this gallery.

Do you see urban decay? Can you even tell it’s in an urban setting? The Bergen Arches constitute a right-of-way slated for capital construction.

The New Jersey Department of Transportation’s 2002 report (a “final draft”) on the Arches ennumerated these potential usages:

FREIGHT RAIL (alternative F1): A new dual-track freight rail line through the Bergen Arches would connect the Northern Branch Line west of the Palisades with the National Docks Secondary Line east of the Palisades.

TRANSIT (alternative T1): A new dual-track light rail line through the Bergen Arches would connect the existing Hudson-Bergen light rail line with the NJ Transit-Secaucus Junction station.

TRANSIT (alternative T2): Same as alternative T1, except that the light rail line would be extended northwest of Secaucus Junction to the Meadowlands.

TRANSIT (alternative T3): A new two-lane busway through the Bergen Arches would connect 11th Street in Jersey City with the new EXIT 15X on the New Jersey Turnpike (I-95). It also would provide connections to the NJ Transit-Secaucus Junction station.

ROADWAY (alternative R1): A new four-lane roadway with no shoulders, or three-lane roadway with shoulders, would be built from the EXIT 15X on the New Jersey Turnpike (I-95) through the Bergen Arches east to Jersey City. The two-lane roadways would diverge at its eastern terminus, with eastbound traffic exiting onto 11th Street and westbound traffic entering the Bergen Arches roadway at 18th Street.

ROADWAY (alternative R2): Same as alternative R1, but traffic would enter and exit the roadway at the eastern terminus through a widened 6th Street.

ROADWAY (alternative R3): Same as alternative R1, but traffic would enter and exit the roadway at the eastern terminus through a widened 18th Street.

MIXED-MODE (alternative M1): Same as alternative T1, except that the right-of-way would accommodate a dual-track light-rail line, flanked by a bus lane in each direction.

MIXED-MODE (alternative M2): Same as alternative R1 (New Jersey Turnpike to 11th Street / 18th Street; alternative M2 would be built as a four-lane facility. However, the inner lanes would be restricted to buses and HOV+3 vehicles (three or more occupants) during peak periods.

MIXED-MODE (alternative M3): Same as alternative R1 (New Jersey Turnpike to 11th Street / 18th Street; alternative M2 would be built as a three-lane facility. However, the center lane would be used as a reversible bus / HOV+3 lane during peak periods.

Alternatives T2 and T1 seem ideal, and T3 as well to some extent. The Hudson-Bergen Light Rail (HBLR) traverses a large area along the shore. But  the northern terminus has no connection to the  New Jersey Transit Commuter Rail; the only such connection exists at Hoboken Terminal — in the middle of the HBLR “main trunk.”

How important could this link be? Well, proper connections between “local” (HBLR) and “long distance” (commuter rail) are what allow suburbs to thrive. New York’s subway system connects with the Long Island Railroad at three main junctures (soon to be a fourth — maybe), and this is what allows Long Island to politely siphon off New York City jobs. The connection allows tourism to flow in both directions, and even if New York City carries more weight than Long Island, it is still a mutually beneficial relationship.

But thanks to the 2002 report, the plan with the most steam behind it is M2, a four-lane roadway with the inner lanes restricted to buses and carpooling vehicles — during peak hours only. This immediately ran into opposition, as it rightly should, as it seems to be a solution which only favors commercial transport interests.

Right now, the project is in a state of limbo, partially because there was never a consensus, but also because no one has any money to attempt capital construction at the moment. In a 2003 Federal Appropriations Report (page 15), there is a line indicating that $5,225,000 was allocated for a needs assessment on the “Bergen Arches rail cut through Jersey City Palisades.” We’ll have to wait and see what might happen.