Robert Menendez

Menendez: Sandy Was the Largest Mass Transit Disaster in Our Nation’s History

Senator Details the Devastating Impact the Storm Had on NJ Transportation System Before the Commerce Committee

December 6, 2012

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) today appeared before the U.S. Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Surface Transportation, which is chaired by Senator Frank R. Lautenberg, to share Hurricane Sandy's devastating impact on New Jersey's transportation system. Menendez used photos to help paint a picture of the destruction Sandy brought to New Jersey's ports, roads and rails. Citing the crippling effect the storm had on the state's industries, economy and commuters, Menendez underscored the need for a national commitment to helping New Jersey's transportation system rebuild.

CLICK HERE for video of Senator Menendez's remarks. 

Text of the Senator's remarks as prepared for delivery follow: 

*** NOTE: CLICK HERE to view the photos referenced below. Please contact Menendez Press for high-res photos ***

Chairman Lautenberg thank you for inviting me to help you explain just how devastating Superstorm Sandy was to New Jersey and the entire region and to highlight the significance of the help we will need to rebuild.

The powerful storm surge overwhelmed our state and the result is damage on a massive scale. The numbers are staggering across the region.

In New Jersey we lost 34 people in the storm.

The storm was the largest mass transit disaster in our nation’s history.  Four out of ten of the nation’s transit riders had their commutes disrupted by the storm. 

New Jersey Transit alone had dozens of locomotives and rail cars damaged in the flooding and miles and miles of track damaged.

The preliminary damage estimate provided by the state is now up to $36.9 billion in damage, but everyone expects that this number will rise.

We are getting more damage numbers, but the toll to transportation and commerce -- is truly incalculable.

It has been reported that the massive Port of New York and New Jersey super-complex suffered widespread damage.

Ships were unloading a week after the storm, but full recovery from the damage Sandy caused at the Port will take much longer.

Dennis Lombardi, the Port’s Commerce Director, has been quoted as saying just a few days ago – and I quote – “The ports are operating at about 70 to 80 percent capacity.”

He reported that it took five days to restore power to Port Elizabeth  and that the storm engulfed the ports “like a tidal wave.”

The storm surge was an estimated 13 to 14 feet and winds were reported to hit 80 to 90 miles per hour.

More than 700 cargo containers were damaged when the surge and high winds toppled the containers onto each other.

In this picture, you can see that half of a Port Authority barge was lifted onto a berth in Red Hook. And it was reported that in Jersey City a float used to move railway cars broke in half.

[PHOTO 1]

It was also reported that 150 feet of railroad track was washed-away and cargo-handling cranes and other pieces of equipment were severely damaged.

The trucking industry lost about 1,000 rigs to flooding at the port and other locations where the trucks were parked which is about 25 percent of the trucks that serve the port.

About 16,000 cars, most of which were imports, were flooded  and were a total loss. The tangled mess of colored metal scraps you see in this picture is a mix of cars and hundreds of motorcycles - destroyed by the storm. 

[PHOTO 2]

And the storm -- and the damage to the port -- diverted 50 ships that were headed for New York and New Jersey to other ports.

According to Mr. Lombardi, those ships were carrying 15,000 cargo containers and almost 10,000 automobiles.

As far as other transportation damage up and down the New Jersey coast, the sheer scope of the damage is difficult to fathom.

This is the Mantoloking Bridge which crosses Barnegat Bay and connects Brick with Mantoloking. As you can see in this picture the storm surge ripped a gash right through Mantoloking.

[PHOTO 3]

Amazingly this bridge can be repaired, but as is obvious in this picture many of the surrounding homes were lost and part of the highway will need to be rebuilt.

This is a shipping container and a large pleasure boat tossed onto the Morgan Rail Bridge on the North Jersey Coast Line along with tons of debris.

[PHOTO 4]

It took a lot of work to restore service on NJ Transit, which suffered disruptions on every rail line.

Even today the Port Authority’s PATH terminal at Hoboken is inoperable and will not be back on line for some time.

Corrosive sea water rushed into the PATH stations at Exchange Place and Hoboken and the Hoboken station may not reopen for weeks.

But I do know New Jersey will rebuild.

We will get New Jersey moving again.

Just as we stood with the people of the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina, or the people of Joplin, Missouri, after a tornado ravaged their community. Now we need a helping hand.

It’s time for all of us in government – to stand together and help New Jersey continue to rebuild and recover.

Thank you very much.

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