Port Authority Starts Construction on Port Street Corridor Improvement Project

On Nov 30, 2023

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey announced the beginning of major construction work on the $220 million Port Street Corridor Improvement project to redesign and rebuild Port Newark’s northern entrance at Port and Corbin streets. The interchange serves as a crucial link to the New Jersey Turnpike and Interstate 78 and provides access to one of the Port Authority’s marine facilities that make up the largest and busiest cargo gateway on the East Coast. The redesign will feature a more efficient roadway configuration with a wider turning radius, allowing for safer trucking operations to and from the Port Newark complex. The improvements will additionally offer truck drivers significant time savings while they navigate the complex, enhancing efficiency and reliability across the supply chain as well as significantly reducing carbon emissions each year.

The project received a $44 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA) program in July 2021. The project is expected to generate 260 additional direct jobs during construction with a priority placed on working with local, minority, and women contractors. Additionally, the work is anticipated to generate $25 million in direct wages and $171 million in regional economic activity. Work is scheduled to be completed in 2028.

“The start of construction on the Port Street Corridor Improvement project marks yet another milestone toward the ongoing enhancement of efficiency and safety at this critical transportation and logistics hub,” said New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy. “These improvements will further boost the performance and productivity of Port Newark, which remains integral to economic vitality and opportunity not just across the region, but in adjacent communities. Indeed, the project will entail extensive local engagement and hiring, including among women and minority residents in Newark and Elizabeth, two of our state’s most populous cities.”

“Over the past few years, we’ve seen firsthand the importance of keeping every link in our supply chain robust and ready,” said Port Authority Chairman Kevin O’Toole. “This project does exactly that, modernizing access points at this critical gateway so we can make sure everything from food and clothes to cars and electronics is arriving on time for the millions of consumers in the region, while also injecting money into the local economy by prioritizing the hiring of local contractors and workers.”

“This project will mean a safer, faster trip for trucks and other vehicles serving our seaport that require access to the port complex every day,” said Port Authority Executive Director Rick Cotton. “That will have ripple effects across the regional and national supply chain, helping the Port of New York and New Jersey stay ahead of the curve as cargo volumes continue to grow in the years ahead.”

The Port Street Corridor Improvement project aligns with the Port Authority’s goals to maintain and update the seaport complex and remain on track for the cargo demand anticipated in the Port Master Plan 2050. The comprehensive roadmap of capital improvements is guiding growth and development at the seaport complex as it prepares to handle a forecasted doubling or tripling of cargo volume by 2050.

The project is focused on the northern entrance to Port Newark and the adjacent Elizabeth Marine Terminal. The entryway connects the complex to Interstate 78, the New Jersey Turnpike, and a roadway section for both U.S. routes 1 and 9. The ramp from Port Street to Corbin Street serves approximately 3,600 vehicles during a typical peak hour, 40 percent of which is truck traffic.

The interchange’s current configuration includes a series of hairpin turns with reduced sightlines, which are often challenging for truck drivers to navigate safely. More than 700 crashes were reported on the roadway between 2005 and 2022. The improvements to lane capacity, turning radius, and other safety features are expected to reduce crashes by 37 percent.

The enhancements will save 700,000 hours of travel time for vehicles accessing the complex in the first full year following project completion. The estimated savings of vehicle travel times will also improve air quality around the complex. The changes are expected to reduce average annual fuel consumption by approximately 70,000 gallons and result in the avoidance of approximately 750 tons of carbon emissions per year.

Among the upgrades planned as part of the project:

• Reconstruction of the ramp from Port Street to Corbin Street, featuring a wider turning radius and the restoration of a second travel lane
• Relocation and widening of Kellogg and Marlin streets to allow for two inbound lanes from Port Street and one outbound lane from Corbin Street with dedicated left turn lanes
• Reconstruction of Outer Port Street with a wider turning radius to Port Street
• Installation of a new traffic signal at the intersection of Port and Marlin streets, and improvement of existing traffic signals at the intersections of Corbin and Kellogg streets, and of Port Street and Doremus Avenue
• Raising the main interchange area to a higher elevation to alleviate flooding
• Construction of a new storm drainage system connecting the improved roadways to a new storm water discharge point in the Port Newark Channel
• Realignment of the grade-level railroad tracks to a safer, more visible pathway as they intersect with the street
• Construction/addition of street lighting along Kellogg and Marlin streets

The port will remain fully operational through every stage of construction. Beginning in summer 2024, trucks wishing to access Corbin Street from eastbound Port Street will be routed to a detour via Marlin and Kellogg streets. Once the detour is in place, work will begin to demolish and rebuild the Corbin Street ramp.

The Port Authority worked with its federal and community partners to establish ambitious benchmarks for local involvement in the project. Contract language stipulates goals for participation from firms owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals and certified as disadvantaged business enterprises through the agency. The contract also contains targets for the hiring of women, minorities, residents of Newark and Elizabeth, and apprentices enrolled in federally registered apprenticeship programs. Planning for the project involved extensive outreach with port stakeholders and tenants, as well as federal, state, and local partners.

Separate from the Port Newark roadway improvements, the Port Authority’s efforts to improve access to and from the complex also include planned upgrades to its on-dock ExpressRail system. The Southbound Connector project will add a second egress point, boosting operational flexibility by allowing trains leaving the complex to turn left and head south. Currently, trains can only exit the facility’s ExpressRail Elizabeth terminal to the north. This enhancement is expected to streamline train movements and reduce congestion during peak hours. ExpressRail connects every major container terminal in the marine complex with two Class I freight railroads, Norfolk Southern and CSX. The extensive rail network allows goods to reach the Midwest, New England, and eastern Canada quickly and efficiently. The Southbound Connector project has received $6.85 million in grant funding from the New Jersey Department of Transportation for planning and construction and is also funded in part by Maher Terminals and APM Terminals, which together operate the facility through their Millennium Marine Rail joint venture. Completion of the project is expected in 2027.

The railroad and roadway improvements will benefit the agency’s many partners who use the 930-acre complex of container, bulk and auto terminals, warehouses, and wharves. The Port of New York and New Jersey is the busiest seaport on the East Coast and among the top three busiest in the country, handling cargo totaling more than $275 billion in value in 2022. Port operations supported more than 563,000 industry jobs in the New York-New Jersey-Pennsylvania region, according to a study of 2022 maritime economic activity by the Shipping Association of New York and New Jersey.

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