Passaic gets $5M state grant to fix deadly underpass
PASSAIC — The city has received a $5 million state grant to resolve severe flooding at the deadly railroad bridge that crosses a swale on Passaic Avenue near its intersection with Van Houten Avenue.
The grant is just the latest in a series of efforts by the city to address raging stormwater runoff in and around McDanold’s Brook.
‘When Hurricane Ida’s remnants swept through Passaic in 2022, three area residents were killed, one of them under the railroad bridge. Since then, the city has been addressing the stormwater issues in those areas, Mayor Hector Lora said.
One site addressed is the Benson Avenue culvert area, where stormwater swept three into the McDanold’s Brook culvert and eventually to the Passaic River. Two of the victims died, Another, a Door Dash driver, survived a year earlier, resurfacing in the river on the other side of the culvert.
The city next will address the problematic Passaic Avenue underpass by the train station, where a Clifton man died after his car was engulfed in floodwaters. Passaic firefighters were able to rescue the man’s wife and son from the car, but the 70-year-old man could not be saved.
Gov. Phil Murphy texted Lora last week that he had secured up to a $5 million grant to resolve the flooding situation, the mayor said.
The grant is through the state’s Department of Community Affairs Resilient Communities Program. The maximum award is $5 million, he said.
“With this grant, we have three years to finish it from the date we sign the grant agreement,” Lora said.
To alleviate localized flooding at the NJ Transit underpass on Passaic Avenue by the Van Houten Avenue intersection, the city is proposing adding the following:
● A stormwater pumping station to redirect flows upstream and away from the localized low point.
● An underground infiltration tank to store excess stormwater during heavy storm events and send some of it back into the ground, replenishing the groundwater as well as slowly releasing the water back into the waterway long after the storm has concluded.
● A riprap-lined channel, a layer of large stones, on the natural waterway to dissipate the energy of the flowing water and reduce soil erosion.
The last item should also help downstream, where the city has also made improvements along the brook to lessen the impact of stormwater runoff as it approaches the culvert.
The city has also de-snagged and desilted much of the brook, which runs through Third Ward Park. More recently, it has improved the drainage from a nearby parking lot and planted trees, which help absorb water. It also received a $1.6 million grant to remove the black top, which exacerbates runoff.
The plan, Lora said, is to replace the existing two-lane street with a grass median down the middle. Grass and trees will be planted along the abandoned tarmac and the street will become a single lane, two-way street.
In recent storms, the runoff in the area around the culvert has been much improved, the mayor said.
Next up is the NJ Transit underpass. Passaic Fire Chief Pat Trentacost said even with the brook’s drainage improvements the underpass remains a concern.
Police and fire crews block it off when heavy rains are expected and despite improvements to other areas, runoff issues remain.
“This will definitely improve safety,” the chief said about the city’s plan, “and not only for citizens but for the firefighters that have to wade through that water.”