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Chapter 1: Purpose and Need

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Chapter 1: Purpose and Need Chapter 1: Purpose and Need A. INTRODUCTION This chapter describes the purpose and need for the proposed Access to the Region’s Core (ARC) project. Regional planning agencies have forecast that by 2030, the horizon year for this Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS), demand for trans-Hudson travel between New Jersey and Orange and Rockland counties in New York and midtown Manhattan will grow by more than 25 percent. Without new trans- Hudson transportation capacity, this growth in demand would mean more congestion and greater delays on existing roads, bridges and public transportation infrastructure. This chapter documents existing and forecast deficiencies in providing trans-Hudson transit services based on the project’s Major Investment Study Summary Report (2003) and subsequent analysis. Further assessment of these deficiencies is documented in Chapter 3, Sections 3.1 and 3.3 of this FEIS. Chapter 1 also outlines the existing and future needs that ARC would address. B. FEIS SCOPE INTENT OF PROJECT The intent of the project is to meet future transportation capacity needs between midtown Manhattan (the region’s core) and growing population concentrations west of the Hudson River in both New Jersey and New York. The Major Investment Study (MIS) sponsored by NJ TRANSIT, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ), and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) completed in 2003, concluded that the best approach to meeting these transportation needs was the commuter rail mode between midtown Manhattan and points west of the Hudson River. This commuter rail solution would complement the existing NJ TRANSIT commuter rail network, which provides service throughout New Jersey and into Orange and Rockland counties in New York, where service is operated through agreement with the MTA/Metro-North Railroad (see Figure 1-1). Ten of the eleven NJ TRANSIT commuter rail lines pass through Frank R. Lautenberg Station on Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor (NEC) in Hudson County, New Jersey. The NJ TRANSIT commuter rail network provides connections to numerous local and regional transit services, including: NJ TRANSIT statewide express and local bus service; the Port Authority Trans-Hudson (PATH) service to New York in Newark and Hoboken; and ferry services to New York from Hoboken, Weehawken, and Jersey City. In midtown Manhattan, NJ TRANSIT commuter rail service to Penn Station New York (PSNY) provides connections to the extensive New York City Transit (NYCT) subway and bus network, including the Eighth Avenue subway lines (A, C, E) and Seventh Avenue subway lines (1, 2, 3), as well as the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR). INTENT OF ANALYSIS This FEIS, and the previously issued DEIS and SDEIS, examine the direct social, environmental, and economic impacts of the proposed commuter rail solution (the Build Alternative) that would best meet future trans-Hudson travel needs. Beyond the project area, potential air quality, noise and vibration impacts directly related to the operation of Build Alternative service with dual- power locomotives were assessed. In addition, indirect Build Alternative impacts have been evaluated qualitatively. 1-1 To Port Jervis (Orange County) New York Suffern Spring Rockland Valley Pennsylvania New Jersey Sussex Main Line Pascack Valley Line Glen Westwood Passaic Rock Bergen Montclair-Boonton Line County Line Denville Montclair Warren Morris Morristown State Univ. Hackettstown Frank R. n a Line t Morris & Lautenberg t Essex Newark a Station h Essex Lines n Penn a Station M Gladstone Penn Station Gladstone Hoboken New York Summit Terminal Branch Union High Bridge Raritan Valley Line New York Somerville Rahway Hunterdon Somerset Northeast South Amboy Corridor Line Middlesex North Jersey Coast Line Princeton Branch Princeton Mercer Long Branch Pennsylvania Monmouth Trenton Ocean Bay Head Access to the Region’s Core Legend Final Environmental Impact Statement Existing NJ TRANSIT Commuter Rail lines Figure 1-1 Rail Station/Terminal Existing NJ TRANSIT Rail Lines into Penn Station Major Station New York and Hoboken Terminal Source: Transit Link Consultants, 2008 Not to Scale Chapter 1: Purpose and Need PROJECT AREA The project area evaluated in the FEIS is defined as the area from the Koppers Coke site in Kearny, New Jersey through Frank R. Lautenberg Station in Secaucus, New Jersey to West 34th Street and Fifth Avenue in Manhattan (see Figure 1-2). The project area parallels the existing NEC from just west of Frank R. Lautenberg Station and continues under North Bergen, Jersey City, Union City, Weehawken, and Hoboken in Hudson County, New Jersey and under the Hudson River to Manhattan. The project area encompasses portions of the Main Line and former Boonton Line as they extend south of Frank R. Lautenberg Station, merge to a connection with the Morris and Essex Lines in Jersey City, and continue west across the Hackensack River to the Koppers Coke site. Frank R. Lautenberg Station serves as a transfer station for NJ TRANSIT commuter rail passengers traveling to midtown Manhattan, as well as to points within New Jersey. Frank R. Lautenberg Station is located in the New Jersey Meadowlands, amid wetlands, some of which have been altered by industrial construction or landfills. The Station is surrounded by industrial complexes to the north and rail lines to the south. New transit-oriented development, which includes residential and commercial properties, is being built or is planned for the area north of the Station. NJ Turnpike Interchange 15X was opened in December 2005 in the vicinity of Frank R. Lautenberg Station. Proposals for commercial and hotel development as an overbuild above Frank R. Lautenberg Station have the potential to add to the diversity of land use in this area. East of Frank R. Lautenberg Station, the project area parallels the NEC, surrounded by more single-story industrial buildings and rail yards. Continuing east, the project area includes more wetlands, until the NEC enters the existing Amtrak North River Tunnels, which continue under the Palisades (high cliffs running along the west side of the Hudson River in northeast New Jersey and southern New York) and the Hudson River into PSNY. The Build Alternative would be located within the same alignment as the existing NEC, until descending into two new tunnels in North Bergen, just south of the existing North River Tunnels portal. East of the Build Alternative tunnels portal in North Bergen, New Jersey, the tunnels would pass under industrial and commercial buildings along Tonnelle Avenue, and then be aligned as much as 300 feet under the Palisades. Atop the Palisades are residential and commercial communities in North Bergen, Jersey City, Union City, and Hoboken. The tunnels would then pass under northern Hoboken, just south of the Shades neighborhood in Weehawken, and the entrance to the Lincoln Tunnel. The Build Alternative tunnels would continue under the Hudson River to the vicinity of West 28th Street in Manhattan. In Manhattan, the new tunnels would be aligned underground to reach a new station that would be located 153 feet under West 34th Street, between Eighth and Sixth Avenues. Between the Hudson River and Tenth Avenue, the tunnels sections would be 100 to 125 feet deep below the Hudson River Bulkhead, Hudson River Park, Route 9A and industrial and commercial properties, including MTA/LIRR and Amtrak rail yards and buildings. The tunnels then would pass under residential, educational, and retail properties as they would approach the new station. Due to the depth of the tunnels, minimal impacts to buildings on the surface would occur. These conditions are explained more fully in Chapter 5. 1-3 e u n e v A th lf e w T / A 9 e e t u u n o e R v A h t n e e u v n e e l v NYPSE E A e h u t n n e e v T A e h u t n e New Jersey n v i N A e h u t n h e g v i A E h t e n u e y v n e a e v S A w d h a e t u x o i r n S e B v A h t if F Inset: West Midtown Manhattan New York West Midtown (See Inset) Legend ARC Build Alternative Hudson River Segment Municipal Boundaries Figure 1-2 New York Segment ARC Project Area ARC Project Area New Jersey Segment Not to Scale Source: Transit Link Consultants, 2008 Chapter 1: Purpose and Need The new station, New York Penn Station Expansion (NYPSE), would span almost two full blocks under West 34th Street, from Eighth Avenue on the west to Sixth Avenue and Broadway on the east. NYPSE would be configured as a single, 3-track-over-3-track cavern that would fit within the public right-of-way limits of West 34th Street between Eighth and Sixth Avenues. In this area, the blocks above the proposed station contain large multi-story buildings. These buildings contain a variety of retail uses, ranging from locally owned stores, nationally known major retailers, to the flagship store for Macy's between Seventh and Sixth Avenues. The project area ends at Fifth Avenue and West 34th Street. The top of the new NYPSE cavern would be between 90 and 125 feet below grade between Eighth and Sixth Avenues. C. PROJECT PURPOSE The purpose of ARC is to: (1) increase trans-Hudson commuter rail capacity between Frank R. Lautenberg Station and midtown Manhattan to accommodate projected growth of rail passengers; (2) enhance customer convenience and reduce travel time with more one-seat-ride service; (3) increase rail system reliability within ARC project limits; and (4) maintain system safety and security. The transit infrastructure and services linking west-of-Hudson populations in New Jersey and Orange and Rockland counties in New York with employment and other activities in midtown Manhattan have played a critical role in the continued economic viability of the region.
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