12 years post-sandy, flood control projects start in New Jersey

HOBOKEN, N.J. — A decade after they were first envisioned in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy’s destruction, two of the largest flood control projects designed to protect the densely populated cities of New Jersey that lie just outside New York City finally got underway Wednesday.

A project in Hoboken, which was inundated by flooding during the 2012 storm, and another in the densely populated Meadowlands region, which also saw catastrophic flooding, kicked off. The projects will cost nearly $298 million and are designed to protect some of the region’s most vulnerable communities.

Both projects were formulated by the group Rebuild By Design, which was initiated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in 2013, and New Jersey environmental officials. Rebuild By Design looked at ways to reduce flood risk and increase resiliency in New Jersey, New York and Connecticut, and it launched a series of projects that are in various phases of planning or construction.

“Eleven years ago, Superstorm Sandy pounded this community,” Shawn Latourette, New Jersey’s environmental protection commissioner, said of the Oct. 29, 2012, tragedy. He noted that properties were under water for prolonged periods and there were deaths in the region attributable to the storm.

“That experience was a wake-up call in New Jersey that we need to invest more deeply to build our resilience to these risks,” he said.

RBD Hudson River is by far the larger of the two undertakings, costing $215 million. It calls for building 9,000 linear feet (about 1.7 miles) of flood walls, installation of flood gates and construction of berms and levees. Most of the work will be done in Hoboken, but parts will extend to protect areas of Jersey City and Weehawken, which also sit along the Hudson Riverfront across from Manhattan.

Ravi Bhalla, the current Hoboken mayor, said that when the current project is completed in a few years, nearly 80 percent of the city will be protected by some form of storm barrier.

The RBD Meadowlands project will add a high-power pumping station capable of moving 50 cubic feet of water per second in Little Ferry, a flood-prone community along the Hackensack River.