KEARNY, N.J. (WCBS 880) — President Joe Biden was in New Jersey on Monday where he stopped by a local school and then toured the century-old Portal Bridge, as he promoted his $1.9 trillion infrastructure plan.
The president arrived in the Garden State around 10:45 a.m. and then visited the East End Elementary School in North Plainfield to highlight his Build Back Better agenda.
According to the White House, the Build Back Better agenda “makes universal, high-quality preschool a reality for all American families and would enable the North Plainfield School District to expand free preschool to all 3-year-old children, in addition to the 4-year-olds it currently serves.”
While at the school, Biden took some time to view pre-K student’s own infrastructure projects using building blocks before heading over to the NJ Transit Meadowlands Maintenance Complex in Kearny.
There, he touted his infrastructure plan, which is set to bring dramatic improvements to NJ Transit’s 110-year-old Portal Bridge.
“It’s the busiest rail span in the entire western hemisphere,” the president said of the span.
Biden said that as soon as early next year, shovels will break ground on a new project to place the crossing, which he said was a top priority in his infrastructure bill.
“It's about rebuilding the arteries of America and the Portal Bridge project is showing why investments like this are so important,” he said. “When the Portal Bridge was built, it was state of the art – it really was, but 110 years ago.”
In the last several years, the Portal Bridge – which spans the Hackensack River near the NJ Transit maintenance complex – has become infamous for frequently getting stuck in the open position – causing delays for the hundreds of thousands of commuters that rely on it.
State transit officials said they were excited to see the project begin after years of delay by previous administrations.
The project is expected to take about five years to finish. But it’s just one piece of the puzzle. Down the rails, two new tunnels under the Hudson River are also desperately needed and the president’s infrastructure bill would provide funding for those as well – known as the Gateway Tunnel Project.
“It is time for us to give our region the modern safe and reliable infrastructure that a 21st century economy demands and that's exactly what the entirety of the Gateway Program will do,” New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said of the infrastructure improvement project.
The new bridge is expected to cost $1.6 billion and is considered the largest project in NJ Transit history.
Following his visit the to NJ Transit facility, President Biden departed New Jersey from Newark Liberty International Airport just before 3 p.m.
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