NEW TUNNEL COULD IMPACT SUFFERN IN MANY WAYS
By Kevin T. Czerwinski
The rail tunnel project that will connect North Jersey and Manhattan won't be completed for at least another eight years. Yet, the $8.7 billion venture could begin to start impacting the Village of Suffern long before the tunnel ever sees its first train.
When completed, the tunnel would have an immediate and lasting impact on area residents. Suffern is already a major transportation hub for New Jersey Transit, which has a station in the Village. Service is only expected to increase once the project is completed because commuters from Orange and Rockland Counties will no longer have to switch trains at the Secaucus Transfer Station. The new tunnel will allow them a direct, non-stop ride into mid-town Manhattan, meaning a shorter commute.
Long before the tunnel is completed, though, area residents shouldn't be surprised if they begin to see some subtle changes in the Village, changes that would include plenty of new faces. Suffern is just one of the towns that figures to have a bit of a population increase based on the tunnel's completion. Property values may also increase slighlty.
"When it is complete, the tunnel is going to allow commuters to have a reduced commute," said Suffern Parking Authority Chairman Scott Shedler. "It will be a one stop train so commuters won't have to get off and transfer in Secaucus or Hoboken. New York City is the center of the universe the way I look at it. And the ability to get in and out quicker will make the property [in the Village] worth more.
"Someone who normally would have commuted from a half hour away just to get to the train station will look at Suffern as an alternative. That's the mindset of a commuter. There will be more buyers for homes and more people from the city visiting if they know they can just get off the train. It's a big deal to be able to get off the train like that in Penn Station. Instead of taking a bus into the Port Authority or the PATH they can take the train to Penn Station and save 10 or 15 minutes."
The new tunnel is expected to double rail capacity, cut down on commute times and reducing crowding on trains. It will go underground at the Tonnelle Avenue underpass in North Bergen, New Jersey. There is also expected to be as much as four miles of tunneling in Manhattan, ending at a new station adjacent to Penn Station. When finished, the two-track tunnel will allow the number of commuter trains that can reach Manhattan to more than double every hour, going from 23 to 48.
This tunnel marks, which will be constructed in 24 segments, the first Hudson River crossing between New Jersey and Manhattan since the third tube of the Lincoln Tunnel was opened to vehicular traffic 52 years ago. It will be the largest transit project in the United States, according to the Federal Transit Authority.
The project is expected to create more than 6,000 construction jobs and will be funded, in part, by the federal government. The Obama administration is expected to provide roughly $3 million toward the tunnel's completion.