Posted on February 22, 2023
The NJ. Department of Transportation has completed a $5 million dredging project on the Arthur Kill to make it more navigable for ferries and increase the depth of boat slips that are in this borough’s future.
With dredging done, Mayor Daniel J. Reiman is eager to move forward with his Carteret Ferry Terminal, saying the borough can begin to solicit bids this spring, laying groundwork for sweeping land and waterfront improvements.
Dredging was the first major, state-funded step to move the project along.
The state Transportation Department (NJDOT) began dredging in December with its contractor, Donjon Marine Co. Inc, working seven-days-a-week to hasten the process.
More than 20,000 cubic yards of sediment was removed from the waterway. It will be treated, processed, and used as ground cover at the Middlesex County Utility Authority landfill in East Brunswick.
State money for the dredging came in addition to $11.7 million that Gov. Phil Murphy’s administration already committed to Carteret’s Ferry Terminal project.
Mayor Reiman has secured more than $37 million in federal, state assistance and grants to ultimately turn his waterfront vision into reality.
Reiman, in a prepared statement, said he hopes groundwork for the terminal and waterfront can begin in late spring or early summer.
Meanwhile, Reiman’s administration is exploring the use of Carteret’s existing pier, built with Green Acres funds, to provide temporary ferry service to Manhattan communters.
“We’re looking at the regulatory agencies – (for) what’s permitted, what’s not – because that’s a Green Acres pier. We’re looking to see whether that’s feasible,” the mayor said.
Carteret already owns a 149-seat ferry it bought for $2.25 million in January 2022. It is buying a second ferry for $9.8 million under NJ Transit contract from a Bridgeport, Conn. boat builder. The second ship is be delivered within 18 months.
Temporarily, Carteret could “operate a ticket booth out of a kiosk … until the terminal building is built.
