The New Jersey Transit (NJ Transit) Board of Directors has approved a contract with AECOM for additional design services for Hilton Garage in Maplewood and advances the current condition assessments for two additional garages, Westwood and Ironbound II.
“Upgrading our bus garages to support zero-emission buses is a crucial step towards a cleaner, healthier future,” said New Jersey Department of Transportation Commissioner and NJ Transit Board Chair Diane Gutierrez-Scaccetti. “The additional enhancements to the Hilton Garage facility will create the roadmap needed for the installation of electric charging infrastructure and ultimately move us closer to our zero- emission goals.”
“Today’s board authorization advances NJ Transit’s commitment to transform all 18 of our bus garages to support zero-emissions buses,” said NJ Transit President and CEO Kevin S. Corbett. “This continues to pave the way for us to achieve a 100 percent zero-emissions bus fleet by 2040, aligned with Gov. Phil Murphy’s Energy Master Plan.”
In May of 2022, NJ Transit executed a contract with AECOM to complete Phase I- Stage I of the Hilton Garage Early Construction project, which included a concept design for the new pantograph system, a structural analysis, facility survey report and estimate for Stage II. Upon review of the concept plans, existing conditions of the garage and spatial constraints, it was determined that additional design efforts were required.
Phase IA of the project, which was approved by the board on Oct. 11, calls for AECOM to provide the engineering design and construction documents to reconstruct Bay 3 of the Hilton Garage by replacing all existing systems – power, lighting, plumbing, drainage, HVAC, fire protection, industrial systems, public address, communication and technology – to house future battery-electric buses for an amount not to exceed $2.7 million, plus five percent for contingencies. Four additional articulated battery-electric buses and charging stations will also be housed at Hilton Garage. The new design will also include a maintenance and storage area for new equipment at roof level, which will be protected by a new solar panel canopy.
In addition to the Hilton Garage design, Westwood and Ironbound II Garages will receive survey and existing conditions reports. The two garages will be used to store the diesel buses that must be relocated once construction begins at the Hilton Garage. AECOM will also perform a fire life safety hazard analysis to help identify solutions that can be incorporated into the design of other NJ Transit bus garages.
