Long Branch $12.3M NJ Transit pedestrian tunnel part of big changes for train station

Dan Radel, Asbury Park Press
·2 min read

LONG BRANCH - Two years ago, the city and its partner NJ Transit spoke publicly about a dramatic idea to build a pedestrian bridge over the railroad tracks as part of a larger plan to upgrade the aging train station, one of the busiest on the North Jersey Coast Line.

On Friday, Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., D-N.J., announced that the funding needed for the project, $12.3 million in total, has been secured through the federal Department of Transportation's Reconnecting Communities Pilot Program established in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

Only it won't be a bridge. It will be a tunnel.

The tunnel will connect the east and west sides of the city that are currently bisected by a sound barrier wall that was erected during a 1988 upgrade to the station. The funds will also cover the reconstruction of the commuter parking lot for multimodal public transportation, ride share and taxi service, construction of a heated pedestrian overhang for bus service and landscape improvements.

A NJ Transit train (right) rolls south out of the Long Branch station Tuesday, June 1, 2021.
A NJ Transit train (right) rolls south out of the Long Branch station Tuesday, June 1, 2021.

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“This announcement is wonderful news for the city of Long Branch," said Mayor John Pallone, brother of the congressman. "The pedestrian tunnel will ensure riders no longer have to cross the train tracks to access the platforms and residents can easily access businesses on each side of the station. I’m grateful to the federal and state agencies that worked to make this project possible."

The neighborhood has seen a recent burst of streetscape improvements and new development stemming from the creation of the Transit Village District in 2013. It received the state Department of Transportation's official designation as a transit village in 2016.

Long Branch Mayor John Pallone speaks during a NJ Transit press conference at the Long Branch train station Tuesday, June 1, 2021.
Long Branch Mayor John Pallone speaks during a NJ Transit press conference at the Long Branch train station Tuesday, June 1, 2021.

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The city's vision is to bring in more housing and businesses while creating bicycle routes, pedestrian activity and easy access to goods and services that are all centered around mass transit. The transit village designation allows the city and NJ Transit to apply for DOT grant money, such as the funding it received for the Third Avenue road improvements and now the pedestrian tunnel.

Originally built in 1875, Long Branch Station has the fifth-highest ridership of the 20 stations that make up the North Jersey Coast Line, with over 1,000 average weekday boardings according to 2019 data.

When Jersey Shore native Dan Radel is not reporting the news, you can find him in a college classroom where he is a history professor. Reach him @danielradelapp; 732-643-4072; dradel@gannettnj.com.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Long Branch NJ Transit train station getting pedestrian tunnel