West Side Avenue station

West Side Avenue is a station on the Hudson–Bergen Light Rail (HBLR) in the West Side neighborhood in Jersey City, Hudson County, New Jersey. Located on the east side of West Side Avenue, the station is the terminal of the West Side Avenue branch of the Hudson–Bergen Light Rail, with service to Tonnelle Avenue station in North Bergen. The station consists of a single island platform and a pair of tracks that end at the station. The station contains a pedestrian bridge over West Side Avenue to a small parking lot and bus stop on the west side of the street. The station is accessible for handicapped people per the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, with an elevator in the pedestrian overpass and train-level platforms. West Side Avenue station opened on April 17, 2000 as part of the original operating segment of the Hudson–Bergen Light Rail.[1]

West Side Avenue
Hudson–Bergen Light Rail station
LocationWest Side Avenue & Claremont Avenue
Jersey City, New Jersey
Coordinates40.7146°N 74.0873°W / 40.7146; -74.0873
Owned byNJ Transit
Platforms1 island platform
Tracks2
Connections NJT Bus: 80
A&C Bus: 32–440 Shopper
31–Montgomery & West Side
30–Society Hill-–Journal Square
Construction
Disabled accessYes
Other information
Fare zone1
History
OpenedApril 17, 2000[1]
Electrified750 V (DC) overhead catenary
Passengers
2006229,580  1%
Services
Preceding station NJ Transit Following station
Terminus West Side–Tonnelle Martin Luther King Drive
toward Tonnelle Avenue
Former services
Preceding station Central Railroad of New Jersey Following station
Kearny
toward Newark
 Newark and New York Branch Jackson Avenue
toward Jersey City

History

West Side Avenue station is located on the site of a station with the same name used by the Central Railroad of New Jersey. The original station was established in 1869[2] as part of the Newark and New York Railroad at the crossing for Mallory Avenue (Hudson County Route 611). The stop, known as West Bergen was moved in the late 1870s to West Side Avenue. A two-story wooden depot was built at West Side Avenue c. 1888 and an eastbound brick station measuring 15 by 40 feet (4.6 m × 12.2 m) came in 1910.[3] Service at West Side Avenue, which went to Lafayette Street Terminal in Newark became truncated on February 2, 1946 when a steamship nailed the bridge over the Hackensack River, eliminating two spans.[4] The station lost passenger service on May 6, 1948 when service on the branch ended.[5]

The new station opened on April 17, 2000.[1]

After two years of studies, in May 2011, NJT announced its plan for 0.7 mile extension of the line. The new track would be laid along an elevated viaduct from the West Side Avenue station, across Route 440 to the northern end of the proposed Bayfront redevelopment area, where a new station would be constructed. The trip between the two stations would take 1 minute and 50 seconds. The project, eligible for federal funding, is estimated to cost at $171.6 million.[6][7][8] In December 2017, NJ Transit approved a $5 million preliminary engineering contract for the extension project.[9]

In early 2019, it was announced that the West Side Avenue, Martin Luther King Drive, and Garfield Avenue stations on the West Side Branch would close for nine months starting in June 2019 for repairs to a sewer line running along the right-of-way. During that time, replacement service was provided by NJ Transit shuttle buses.[10][11] Service to the station was restored on May 23, 2020.[12]

Station layout
G Ground level Exit/entrance, park and ride, buses
P
Platform level		 Northbound      West Side–Tonnelle toward Tonnelle Avenue (Martin Luther King Drive) →
Island platform, doors will open on the left or right
Northbound      West Side–Tonnelle toward Tonnelle Avenue (Martin Luther King Drive) →

The station is on an embankment above the east side of street, and consists of an island platform and two tracks. Bumper blocks are at the west end of the station while the platform continues with a pedestrian bridge and elevator connecting it to a large park and ride lot and bus station.[13] It is built along the former Central Railroad of New Jersey's Newark and New York Railroad right of way that continued west across Newark Bay.

Vicinity

Bibliography
  • Bernhart, Benjamin L. (2004). Historic Journeys By Rail: Central Railroad of New Jersey Stations, Structures & Marine Equipment. Outer Station Project. ISBN 1891402072.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Urquhart, Frank J. (2017). A History of the city of Newark, New Jersey, Volume 1. Altenmünster, Germany: Jazzybee Verlag Jürgen Beck. ISBN 9783849649906. Retrieved November 3, 2019.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

References
  1. Dunleavy, Brian (April 18, 2000). "Day One is Smooth for New Light Rail". The Bergen Record. Hackensack, New Jersey. p. 3. Retrieved November 3, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. Urquhart 2017.
  3. Bernhart 2004, p. 104.
  4. "Railroad Ripples". The Passaic Daily News. Passaic, New Jersey. October 4, 1889. p. 3. Retrieved November 3, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. "CNJ to Drop Part of Branch". The Plainfield Evening News. Plainfield, New Jersey. May 6, 1948. p. 2. Retrieved November 3, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. Whiten, Jon (May 11, 2011). "Light Rail Extension to Jersey City's West Side Gets Push Forward from NJ Transit". Jersey City Independent. Archived from the original on October 6, 2011. Retrieved May 13, 2011.
  7. Whiten, Jon (August 23, 2010). "West Side Light Rail Extension Project Picks Up Some Federal Funding". Jersey City Independent. Archived from the original on July 12, 2011. Retrieved April 4, 2011.
  8. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on March 22, 2012. Retrieved April 15, 2011.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  9. "Expansion of Hudson-Bergen light rail expected to get $5 million boost". The Jersey Journal. December 9, 2017. Retrieved January 12, 2018.
  10. McDonald, Terrence T. (March 7, 2019). "Light rail riders sound off on planned route suspension in Jersey City". nj.com. Retrieved March 8, 2019.
  11. "West Side Avenue Light Rail Service to be Suspended Until 2020". Jersey Digs. February 8, 2019. Retrieved March 8, 2019.
  12. https://www.njtransit.com/press-releases/nj-transit-restore-light-rail-service-west-side-avenue-station-jersey-city
  13. West Side Station photos
  14. - JB Bd of Ed @ Lightoiler Building
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