BAY HEAD, N.J. (AP) - NJ Transit is replacing two electrical power substations near the ocean that were damaged by Superstorm Sandy.
The transit agency approved contracts Wednesday totaling $23.7 million to build a new storm-resistant electrical substation at the Bay Head rail yard, part of the North Jersey Coast Line rail service.
The October 2012 storm flooded the rail yard, which is just a few blocks from the ocean, and commuter rail service was disrupted for months after the storm.
“The new Bay Head substation will provide NJ Transit and its customers with more reliable service in the face of future storms,” said the agency’s executive director, Kevin Corbett. “Our resiliency projects, like this substation, are focused on minimizing the impact of storms as they occur, and returning to full service rapidly and safely afterward.”
Two existing substations, which were damaged by corrosive salt water, are being replaced with one new one, and the new equipment elevated to keep it away from future storm surges.
The new fixture also will get protective encasing material to further protect it.
Funding for the project will come from the Federal Transit Administration.
Substations are essential to supplying electric power to overhead power wires and the rail yard and equipment facilities’ systems.
But most of the existing ones are low to the ground and vulnerable to flooding.
As part of a resiliency project begun after Sandy, the agency is planning to elevate such equipment throughout its system.
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