Bergen Arches is an abandoned railroadright of way throughBergen Hill (the lowerNew Jersey Palisades) inJersey City,New Jersey.
Bergen Arches is thecommon name for theErie Cut, theErie Railroad's mile-long, four-track cut which linked the railroad's main line to itsHudson River waterfrontPavonia Terminal, where travelers toManhattan could transfer to thePavonia Ferry or theHudson and Manhattan Railroad.[1] From 1906 to 1910,[2] using 250,000 pounds of dynamite, workers blasted through 800,000 cubic yards (610,000 m3) of bluetrap rock; 160,000 cubic yards (120,000 m3) of earth were excavated. There were construction cost overruns (and settlements paid to local homeowners for damage and injuries from flying rock), with a total cost around $5 million, that led to financial trouble for the Erie and the cancellation of plans to build a new terminal along the Jersey City waterfront.[3] The term "Bergen Arches" originally referred to the massive bridges over the cut, but the two terms have become synonymous.
The last trains to the terminal ran in 1957. The line was abandoned that year. The adjacent tunnel (theLong Dock Tunnel) from the mid-19th century that the Erie Cut replaced is used for freight, and is being restored as part of Liberty Corridor Project as an extension ofNational Docks Secondary line.
Various projects have been proposed for the abandonedtrack bed: for a four-lane or six-lane highway that would connect theNew Jersey Turnpike andU.S. Route 1/9 bypassing traffic headed alongNew Jersey Route 139 for theHolland Tunnel,[4] extension of theHudson Bergen Light Rail, or in conjunction with theHarsimus Stem Embankment, a recreationalgreenway.
A freeway proposed in 1989 by GovernorThomas Kean[5] was strongly supported by then-MayorBret Schundler. In 1998, this project was allocated $26 million in the federalTransportation Equity Act for the 21st Century.[6][7] During the 2001mayoral race, candidates instead lobbied for a mass transit line,[8] and in 2002 the plans were dropped duringMayor Cunningham's administration.[9] In that year,Parsons Brinckerhoff, a consulting firm, released another report commissioned byNew Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) and describing the conditions and analyzing of various options.[10][11] NJDOT has continued to fund studies for the project. In March 2011, an additional $13.4 million was allocated to advance the project.[12]
A Bergen Arches Preservation Coalition has proposed to run theEast Coast Greenway through the Arches.[13][14]
40°44′13″N74°03′34″W / 40.7369°N 74.0594°W /40.7369; -74.0594