Carteret Gets More State Grants To Expand Arthur Kill Walkway

CARTERET, NJ — On Friday, the town of Carteret announced it was given two more grants from the state to expand its riverfront walkway along the Arthur Kill.

Carteret is in the process of building a waterfront walkway that will stretch from Noe's Creek (north of Carteret Waterfront Park) all the way south to the Woodbridge border at Tuft's Point. Tuft's Point is an industrial area of Woodbridge that has no public waterfront access.

The grants are so Carteret can build the northern portion of the walkway; construction is supposed to start in the summer of 2022. The walkway should be complete by 2023, said the town.

Carteret hopes to transform its formerly industrial waterfront to public space, similar to the way Hoboken and Jersey City have done. Carteret and South Amboy also both hope to one day have ferry service to Manhattan. Bids for dredging at the Carteret ferry terminal will open in January 2022 and for the South Amboy ferry terminal in March 2022.

“For over a century, the Arthur Kill River was unavailable to the public but, as we continue to expand public access, these properties will forever be enjoyed by area residents for generations to come," said Carteret Mayor Dan Reiman on Friday.

The walkway will be called the Carteret Riverwalk. It will be a 12-foot wide walkway, with railings on each side. The walkway can be used by the public for walking, jogging, wheelchairs or bicycling. Carteret will also build nature overlooks extending toward the water and benches along the walkway.

Dupont Chemical company donated much of the land that will be converted to the waterfront walkway.

Perhaps the biggest news of all is that the existing old World World II-era U.S. Metals Refining pier, which is approximately 500 feet long and currently not accessible to the public, will be rehabilitated and open to public use as part of the walkway. That will become a public pier and park going out into the river.

On Friday, Carteret was given $1.2 million from the state Department of Environmental Protection's Green Acres program and $500,000 from New Jersey's Urban Parks initiative.

Carteret previously awarded Agate Construction Company a $10 million contract to build the walkway.

For the past several years now, Carteret has been on an ambitious, $60-million plan to open up access to its waterfront, formerly dominated by heavy industry.

In 2019, Carteret opened its first-ever municipal marina, which can dock 185 boats. (The town was giving away free boat slips to Carteret residents when the marina first opened, but that may not still be the case.) Carteret Officially Opens Marina, Free Slips For Boro Residents (July 2019)

The Carteret Waterfront Park now includes a fishing pier, the Waterfront Fitness Trail, a public park with green space and a miniature golf course, and the marina.

Past reporting: Carteret Expands Waterfront Walkway To Woodbridge Town Line (April 2021)

Carteret, South Amboy Move Forward With NYC Ferry Service (January 2021)

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