Lackawanna cutoff may be reactivated

New Jersey Transit is in the process of reactivating the Lackawanna cutoff, spanning 7.3 miles across Sussex County. The section that runs from Port Morris to Andover will cost $36.6 million to reactivate and includes a station on Roseville Road in Byram. It is the hope of railroad officials to reopen the entire Lackawanna cut off which runs for 28 miles through Warren, Morris and Sussex Counties, connecting lines from Hoboken to Scranton. The entire project is expected to cost $551 million dollars. The project is presently in the environmental assessment stage, which was the reason for the public session at Perona Farms on July 10. New Jersey Transit already has the money to proceed, it is funded in their budget and survey work has begun on the beds. Although state permits will still have to be obtained, the reactivation is a federal project and is exempt from most municipal laws and regulations, leaving local planning, zoning boards and governing councils with very little say over the matter. Many oppose the reactivation of the line, including the Sierra Club believing that the expanded railroad would encourage sprawl. Concerns about trash transfer on the rails, environmental issues and lack of supporting transportation infrastructure to move people to and from stations are at the forefront. It is possible for major work on the lines to commence this year, with the Andover-Byram sections to become active in 2011 to 2012. What has happened The Lackwanna cutoff was built from 1908 to 1911. The cutoff was shut down in the mid- to late 1970s. The railway rights were bought by Jerry Turco in the 1980s for $1 million. Rail beds were demolished and track recycled. The rights were sold back to New Jersey Transit for $21 million.