Mayor Dawn Zimmer, Hudson County Executive Tom DeGise, Freeholder Anthony L. Romano, and 5th Ward Councilman Peter Cunningham publicly unveiled the designs for the under-bridge plans for the 14th Street Viaduct on Tuesday, September 7th.

The finals plans include a dog run and playground, pedestrianized streets, a block of active recreation space with a multi-use court and two blocks of multi-purpose space that can be used for farmer’s markets and other community purposes. Click here to view a pdf of the design.

To improve pedestrian safety in the area, traffic calming measures will include raised sidewalks and narrowed streets. Additional East-West blocks of South Marginal Street will be closed to vehicular traffic as is currently the case in front of Clearview Cinemas.

In January, Hoboken officials hosted a community workshop to solicit resident ideas for the design of the area underneath the structure. A committee of stakeholders was formed to meet with and communicate the community’s feedback to Hudson County engineers throughout the design process.

“If Hoboken is to remain our county’s economic and cultural powerhouse, we need to do all we can to reduce traffic congestion, increase open space and create more public amenities in the city’s gateway neighborhoods,” said Hudson County Executive Tom DeGise. “This project, along with the millions in County funds already invested in the new park at 1600 Park Avenue, the Hoboken Cove Waterfront mini-park and the Hoboken Cove section of the Hudson River Waterfront Walkway gap site, are literally “concrete” examples of the County’s continued commitment to that goal.”

“These exciting plans are the result of a collaborative public process involving the Hoboken community and Hudson County,” said Mayor Dawn Zimmer. “We’re thankful for the County’s efforts in creating this inviting recreation area for Hoboken residents, and I want to thank the public and the stakeholder group for taking the time to provide their input and participating in the process that led to a final design.”

The public’s participation and the collaboration between municipal, county, state and federal levels of government, including Senator Robert Menendez, Congressman Albio Sires, a member of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and State Senator Brian Stack was critical to the success of the process.

This $55 million federally-funded project, initiated by Hudson County after the collapse of the I-35W Mississippi River bridge in Minneapolis, is being administered through the County, the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority, and the New Jersey Department of Transportation.

“The rehabilitation of the 14th Street Viaduct is long overdue,” said Hudson County Freeholder Anthony L. Romano. “Structural improvements are needed to transform this antiquated structure into a safe, state-of-the-art viaduct complete with expanded pedestrian walkways and improved lighting.”