Ground Broken For South Amboy Ferry Service Parking Lot, Bulkheads

SOUTH AMBOY, NJ — There was a groundbreaking Tuesday to begin construction on the parking lot, ferry dock and bulkheads for South Amboy-to-Manhattan ferry service.

The ferry terminal will be located at 1 Radford Ferry Road, next to Station Bay, a brand-new 1,875-unit luxury apartment complex that just opened for renting this March.

The parking lot, ferry dock and bulkheads are the most affordable things to build first. Construction on those three things will start this summer. However, South Amboy has not even secured a contractor to build the parking lot yet, according to South Amboy Business Administrator Glenn Skarzynski.

The city expects to put the project out to bid "in the next month or two."

Also, construction is not scheduled to begin anytime soon on the actual ferry building itself.

South Amboy has not fully secured funding to build the actual ferry terminal building, he said.

The town has the funding to build "everything but the building," Skarzynski said Tuesday.

However, NY Waterway previously agreed to be the ferry service provider. NY Waterway will also provide ferry service from Carteret to Lower Manhattan, having just inked a deal in January to provide Carteret with one single 149-passenger ferry boat.

In fact, ferry service may even start running out of there before the terminal building is finished or construction on it even begins.

This area's Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (Democrat-NJ 6) was in South Amboy Tuesday for the parking lot groundbreaking, joined by South Amboy Mayor Fred Henry and Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin and Assemblywoman Yvonne Lopez.

"The South Amboy ferry will give residents a new way to commute between Central Jersey and New York City and reduce traffic congestion,” Pallone said Tuesday.

"I applaud efforts at the state, county and city level that are getting this long-awaited project to the finish line," said Coughlin.

Pallone helped secure $5.3 million from the Federal Transit Administration for the South Amboy ferry service, and endorsed the town's Passenger Ferry Grant Program application.

South Amboy says ferry meet commuter demand between Central New Jersey and New York City and strengthen the area’s economy.

Once it starts running, South Amboy ferry service is expected to service over 1,000 daily riders during each weekday and 250 daily riders on weekend days.

Supporters of the ferry said it will greatly lower daily commuter traffic congestion between Central New Jersey and Manhattan — and greatly increase South Amboy property values.

Prior: Station Bay Luxury Apartments Now Renting By South Amboy Proposed Ferry Site (March)

South Amboy Ferry 'Will Break Ground This Summer,' Town Says

Carteret To Buy Its First Boat From NY Waterway For Ferry Service (January)