Bridge to Nowhere Hoboken Almost Ready

The Hudson Reporter notes that the NJ Transit bridge connecting Hoboken and Newport is nearly finished and should be open by August, or two months later than originally anticipated.

The bridge will connect the waterfront walkway over the Long Slip Canal adjacent to the Hoboken Light Rail terminus. The light rail line runs along the south side of the canal and crosses the channel with a separate bridge, also adjacent to the new walkway bridge.

Newport finished their remaining segment of the walkway last year. That segment has not opened though, and currently the walkway only extends as far north as the new rental tower Aqua.

The opening of the bridge may cause the Newport development to shift priorities. The north east quadrant of the development has long been planned as the last stage of development, but the opening of the walkway puts that corner of the property literally next door to the Hoboken PATH, NJ Transit commuter rail, light rail terminus, and ferry slip. The access to transportation may make this property exponentially more valuable, particularly in a down market.

When the bridge opens, the walkway will be more or less continuous from the Goldman Sachs tower north through Hoboken. Currently, a small segment at Second Street is closed during construction of Crystal Point, a luxury rental tower in Jersey City. Another segment around Newport Center I has no walkway. An ambitious plan floated last year to Connect the Parks in Paulus Hook calls for building a park and bridge over the Morris Canal that would complete another link.