The Liberty State Park Ferry Terminal in Jersey City, N.J., has reopened following a $51.1 million project that added ferry capacity and improved emergency access to the waterfront, the New Jersey Department of Transportation and Department of Environmental Protection announced.
The project restored four bow-loading ferry slips at the historic Central Railroad of New Jersey terminal and upgraded its operational side-loading slip. It also added a 200'×50' engineered barge with four slips designed to accommodate ferries of different sizes. The agencies said the work replaced a sunken barge and will allow the terminal to handle more vessel traffic.
The terminal is New Jersey’s departure point for ferry service to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. The project was designed to support future ferry operations while preserving parts of the former railroad terminal, which had seen little use since Liberty State Park was established in 1976. Work included restoring a historic wooden transfer bridge for public interpretation.
“This new facility expands ferry capacity, improves accessibility, and replaces aging marine infrastructure with a modern terminal designed to safely serve the needs of visitors to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island,” NJDOT Commissioner Priya Jain said.
The additional landing capacity is also intended to give first responders another way to use the waterfront during emergencies. About 30 vessels participated in a Great Boatlift ceremony held in conjunction with the ribbon cutting. The annual event commemorates the maritime evacuation following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
“These four new ferry slips also strengthen something larger: the maritime capacity and resilience of the Port of New York and New Jersey,” said Stephen Lyman, executive director of the Maritime Association of the Port of New York and New Jersey.
The Federal Highway Administration provided about $41 million toward the project, according to Thomas Nelson Jr., the agency’s director of field services north. The agencies said the sunken barge removed from the terminal was repurposed as an artificial reef off the Jersey Shore.
