The state Department of Transportation, through the Transportation Alternatives Set-Aside Program of its Commitments to Communities Initiative, has awarded the borough of Carteret a $1.5 million grant for the Carteret Waterfront Multi-Use Pathway Project.
Known locally as the Riverwalk, the 2.5-mile boardwalk trail will span from Noes Creek to the Port Reading border. The state grant will help fund the construction of an adjoining Rails to Trails path along an abandoned rail that runs parallel to Peter J. Sica Highway and to the waterfront.
“We would create this 5-mile loop,” Carteret Mayor Daniel Reiman said. “In essence, we would create this five-mile Rails to Trails to boardwalk concept. We’re grateful to NJDOT for their support of our continued efforts to turn our former ‘chemical coastline’ into a recreational destination, not only with the forthcoming Riverwalk, but also Waterfront Park, Veterans Pier and a marina.”
NJDOT’s Transportation Alternatives Set-Aside Program is in partnership with the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority.
The program’s goal is to provide federal funds for community-based non-traditional surface transportation projects designed to strengthen the cultural, aesthetic and environmental aspects of the nation’s intermodal system, DOT Commissioner Diane Gutierrez-Scaccetti said.
“The Transportation Alternatives Set-Aside Program has proven to be very popular and extremely competitive,” Gutierrez-Scaccetti said. “This year, 104 applications were received totaling more than $122 million. The department was able to fund 47 projects based on available funding.”
As per state and federal funding requirements, the Riverwalk and future Rails to Trail comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.
The Northern Riverwalk will be adjacent to the forthcoming Carteret Intermodal Transportation Building, the 40,000-square-foot hub of a ferry service that has been 15 years in the making.
