The City of Hoboken invites residents to a virtual community meeting on Thursday, Sept. 5, at 6 p.m. via Zoom to discuss the ongoing construction of the Rebuild by Design project, and related upcoming traffic detours planned for northeast Hoboken. Construction on the resiliency project, designed to comprehensively protect Hoboken from flooding caused by storm surge, will require temporary curbside changes to accommodate shuttle and delivery loading / unloading for residents and pick-up and drop-off zones for students.
On or about Monday, Sept. 16, 15th Street from Park Avenue to Bloomfield Street will be closed to vehicular through-traffic 24 hours a day for approximately three months to facilitate the construction of the Rebuild by Design Resist structure at the intersection of 15th Street and Garden Street. Garden Street from 14th Street to 15th Street, as well as the alleyway between Garden Street and Bloomfield Street, will remain closed. Sidewalks will remain open on the south side of 15th Street between Park Avenue and Garden Street as well as between Garden Street and Bloomfield Street; and the west side of Garden Street from 14th Street to 15th Street. Garage access will be maintained.
Hoboken police officers will be on site to help manage traffic flow as needed, and detour signage and variable message sign boards will be placed in key locations to provide traffic and pedestrian safety advisories.
Starting on Tuesday, Sept. 3, the City will designate both sides of Bloomfield Street and the north side of 14th Street for school pick up and drop off from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday. Temporary No Parking Signs will be posted. Residents are encouraged to walk, bike, or use mass transit, including the HOP shuttle.
Designated loading zones for deliveries and resident shuttle pick-up and drop-off will continue to be provided on the north side of 14th Street between Garden Street and Park Avenue.
Emergency access for police and EMS vehicles will be provided on 15th Street, while fire trucks will use the cobblestone area of Garden Street north of 14th Street. To facilitate emergency access, bollards on Garden Street at 14th Street have been temporarily removed.
The Sept. 5 meeting will provide important updates and allow residents to ask questions about the upcoming phases of the Resist - North construction.
Register online at tinyurl.com/rbdhoboken.
For weekly construction schedules of the Rebuild by Design construction, go to www.hobokennj.gov/construction.
About the Rebuild by Design flood resiliency project
The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) launched the Rebuild by Design (RBD) competition in the summer of 2013 to develop ideas to improve physical, ecological, economic, and social resilience in regions affected by Superstorm Sandy. The proposed project was one of the competition’s six winning concepts, developed with the goal of reducing frequent flooding due to storm surge, high tide, and heavy rainfall. HUD awarded $230 million to the State of New Jersey for the Project in the municipalities of Hoboken, Weehawken, and Jersey City.
The project takes a multi-faceted approach intended to address flooding from both major storm surges and high tides as well as from heavy rainfall events. The project’s comprehensive approach to resilience consists of four integrated components:
- Resist: a combination of hard infrastructure (such as bulkheads, floodwalls and seawalls) and soft landscaping features (such as berms and/or levees which could be used as parks) that act as barriers along the coast during exceptionally high tide and/or storm surge events;
- Delay: policy recommendations, guidelines and urban green infrastructure to slow stormwater runoff;
- Store: green and grey infrastructure improvements, such as bioretention basins, swales, and green roofs, that slow down and capture stormwater, and which will complement the efforts of the City of Hoboken’s existing Green Infrastructure Strategic Plan; and
- Discharge: enhancements to Hoboken’s existing stormwater management system, including the identification and upgrading of existing stormwater/sewer lines, outfalls and pumping stations.
Already completed Rebuild by Design resist features
The Sewer Separation Modification (SSM) contract was the first phase of the Rebuild By Design Hudson River (RBDH) Project. The SSM contract was awarded in January 2021 and was completed in July 2022 for approximately $6.7M in construction costs. The SSM contract separated portions of the Combined Sewer Outfall system in Hoboken into separate stormwater and sanitary lines to ensure that water from a storm surge event will not be able to surcharge under the Resist structure once constructed. SSM work included sealing over 100 existing manholes, as well as the installation of: over 30 additional manholes, 40 catch basins, over 4,000 linear feet of stormwater pipe, and 8 water quality units to remove solids and suspended solids prior to the storm water entering the Hudson River.
A new Harborside Park: A central feature of Rebuild by Design
In October of 2023, the State and City of Hoboken broke ground on a central phase of Rebuild by Design, a new and expanded Harborside Park. The park, located at 15th Street and Park Avenue, will integrate a resist structure of flood walls and gates to mitigate storm surge flooding while providing the community with open space amenities including a playground, amphitheater, dog run, and more. The nearly 3-acre park will become the first park in New Jersey with elevated flood protection features aimed at storm surge protection.
