The City of Hoboken and North Hudson Sewerage Authority (NHSA) have evaluated several alternatives to alleviate the common street flooding. The recommended improvements will upgrade portions of the sewers, roadways, curbs, and sidewalks in the area of 9th and Madison Streets in Northwest Hoboken. Design was coordinated with other projects in the area, such as the Northwest Resiliency Park.
In late 2019, a significant conflict was identified with underground electrical infrastructure and the proposed project layout. The City worked closely with NHSA and PSE&G to resolve this conflict, and the two agencies have undertaken an engineering re-design of the conflict area to enable the project to proceed, at no cost to the City. As a result, the project has been split into two phases:
Phase 1 was completed in 2023 and funded directly by NHSA, at no cost to the taxpayers.
These improvements will direct rainfall into the sewer system and convey it to a trunk line in 11th St., mitigating the recurring rainfall flooding in the area. Learn more about Hoboken's comprehensive water management strategy to mitigate rainfall flooding.
The project will also upgrade the water mains on all three roadways, which are included in the City’s Water System Renewal Plan. Learn more about Hoboken's comprehensive plan to upgrade aging water infrastructure.
Phase 2 will break ground in summer 2024. NHSA and the City will use a combination of low interest and interest-free loans from the New Jersey Infrastructure Bank and bond ordinances to fund Phase 2, which will not utilize any funding from the 2024 municipal budget.
The City of Hoboken and North Hudson Sewerage Authority (NHSA) have evaluated several alternatives to alleviate the common street flooding. The recommended improvements will upgrade portions of the sewers, roadways, curbs, and sidewalks in the area of 9th and Madison Streets in Northwest Hoboken. Design was coordinated with other projects in the area, such as the Northwest Resiliency Park.
In late 2019, a significant conflict was identified with underground electrical infrastructure and the proposed project layout. The City worked closely with NHSA and PSE&G to resolve this conflict, and the two agencies have undertaken an engineering re-design of the conflict area to enable the project to proceed, at no cost to the City. As a result, the project has been split into two phases:
Phase 1 was completed in 2023 and funded directly by NHSA, at no cost to the taxpayers.
These improvements will direct rainfall into the sewer system and convey it to a trunk line in 11th St., mitigating the recurring rainfall flooding in the area. Learn more about Hoboken's comprehensive water management strategy to mitigate rainfall flooding.
The project will also upgrade the water mains on all three roadways, which are included in the City’s Water System Renewal Plan. Learn more about Hoboken's comprehensive plan to upgrade aging water infrastructure.
Phase 2 will break ground in summer 2024. NHSA and the City will use a combination of low interest and interest-free loans from the New Jersey Infrastructure Bank and bond ordinances to fund Phase 2, which will not utilize any funding from the 2024 municipal budget.
NHSA is responsible for procuring and managing both phases of the construction project, in close coordination with the City of Hoboken Division of Engineering, Police, and Office of Emergency Management.
Work hours will be limited to 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., with set up after 7 a.m., in compliance with the City's noise ordinance.
Work was completed for Phase 1 in 2023.
NHSA bid Phase 2 in winter 2024 and plans to begin construction in summer 2024, pending authorization from the New Jersey Infrastructure Bank. More information will be posted here after the contractor is selected.
Traffic control will be coordinated with other construction projects in the area. Parking will be restricted and road closures with detours are anticipated. Contractors will notify adjacent businesses and residents of construction activities in advance, which will also be posted on the Hoboken Construction Updates page.
Visit the Construction Updates page for weekly project updates and notifications.
Several buildings in the area experience sewer backups in garages, how will the Contractor maintain flow to ensure no backups during construction?
The Contractor will be required by contract to maintain flow at all times. The new combined sewer will be constructed from downstream to upstream,so gravity flow will be maintained. The Contractor will either flume the flow or provide by-pass pumping to insure that sanitary flow is maintained. When the sewer lateral for a particular building is reestablished the building owners will be notified and the work will be of a short duration.
Why is the combined sewer main being replaced with another combined main, when the buildings have separate stormwater and sanitary sewer connections?
The work involved in this sewer project involves the replacement of a sagged section of sewer in an existing combined sewer system.
During rainfall flood events, the wake from large trucks causes water to enter buildings. How will this project mitigate water entering buildings?
The project will mitigate rainfall flood events and the associated wake from large trucks.
Will this project mitigate all storwmater flooding in the project area?
While this project will enhance the efficiency of the new H5 Pumping Station, during intense rain events such as thunderstorms, street ponding will continue to occur.
How will this project not push stormwater flooding elsewhere?
This project will not push flooding elsewhere because, the relative topography of the area will be maintained and will not direct runoff to offsite areas.
How will this project prevent sewer backups in building garages?
Once the proposed collection system has been installed it will operate more efficiently and will be easier to maintain, so they should prevent sewer back-ups. However, the sewer lateral of each building should be examined to determine if it is currently operating properly.
How will residents not lose water during construction?
Residents will not lose water during construction of the new water main because the existing main will remain in service until the new main is tested, disinfected,and approved to be placed into service. Since the project includes replacing old water service piping from the main to the residents’ property line/curb valve, there will be a short interruption in water, however, when the water service is transferred to the new main. The interruption will likely be less than four hours and residents will be given notice well in advance by the City's Contractor and Inspector.
How will the project improve pedestrian safety, which is currently impacted by truck traffic from Shop Rite and heavy through traffic on Madison Street between the Holland and Lincoln Tunnels?
As a result of public feedback, the project design has been modified to include traffic calming measures at the intersections of 9th & Madison Streets, 9th & Jefferson Streets, 10th & Madison Streets, and 11th & Madison Streets.
What development is proposed for the former “Water Music”property (931 Madison Street)?
The 931 Madison Street property is within the Northwest Redevelopment Area. The previous redevelopment proposal for 931 Madison Street would have added an untenable amount of height and density. The property has since been sold and the new owner is working on a new redevelopment proposal that will be more in scale with the surrounding neighborhood. Any new proposal will requires redevelopment agreement approved by City Council and subsequent site plan approval through the Planning Board.
Why are the new PSE&G poles so tall?
Per PSE&G: In order to continue to meet demand, to help ensure electric reliability, and to be better prepared for storms, PSE&G is upgrading the electric distribution system to 69 kV(thousand volts). PSE&G has installed over 400 miles of sturdier and taller overhead 69 kV circuits in more than 60 municipalities. PSE&G is rebuilding its electric system infrastructure to replace and/or supplement its 50-plus-year-old 26kV lines to bring 69kV power throughout the state. The additional height of these poles is required to provide phase-to-phase(electric conductors) clearance, to allow space for maintenance and to include a static or shield wire at the top of the pole to dissipate the energy of lightning strikes. In recent years, PSE&G has been upgrading the electric transmission system in the region and the Energy Strong Program was designed to protect and strengthen electric infrastructure against severe weather damage and this included raising/relocating and protecting switching and substations,creating redundancy in the system to reduce outages when damage occurs and deploy smart grid technologies to better monitor system operations to increase PSE&G’s ability to more swiftly assign repair teams. For more information,visit https://www.psegtransmission.com/your-town/Hoboken and Click on “Construction Schedule.” For further questions, please contact Richard Dwyer, richard.dwyer@pseg.com.
Why can’t all utility infrastructure be located underground?
The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities has control and authority over the location of utility wires. The City of Hoboken cannot act unilaterally to move wires underground. Burying all utility wires Citywide is also not technically or financially feasible. The City continues to work with all utilities to upgrade and clean up all existing lines, feeds and services. This process includes removing wires that are no longer in use and upgrading wires that are in use. It is a work in progress that will take time to complete.
Residents and businesses were invited to a community meeting to discuss the project on February 19, 2019. Download the meeting presentation.
