JLo,
Just a point of correction. I worked for the Bergen County Planning Dept. from 1993 thru 1996. Around 1993 the Edgewater waterfront was still nearly 70% brownfield properties but late that year developers started making plans to change those abandoned industrial properties into condos and strip malls. The HBLRT was in well along in the design / build stage and the alignment was pretty much set as going thru the Weehawken Tunnel.
Bergen County and Edgewater fought hard to have the HBLRT alignment brought north along the then still existing railroad right of way to and than thru the unused Edgewater Tunnel. From the west portal the line would continue west along the NYS&W branch and directly into the Vince Lombardi Service Area on Route 95. I designed conceptual plans for the Planning Dept showing various alignments for the HBLRT using the Edgewater Tunnel with the widened River Road. We even had an agreement with the developers in Edgewater to provide the right of way and a location of a station free if that alignment was chosen. It should also be noted they provided the right of way for River Road free of charge and paid most of the bill to re-align / widen the roadway.
However politics played a huge part in the alignment of the HBLRT and the current alignment was chosen. So Bergen County and Edgewater lost that fight.
Now the entire area along the Hudson River is considered the Gold Coast and not many signs of the former industries exist. The Edgewater tunnel has a gasoline pipeline running thru it that connects the Hess facility on River Road, Edgewater to the Hess facility in Bogota.
The recent railroad speeder trip run by the Volunteer Railroaders Association went up that branch to the west portal of the tunnel. The tunnel is gated but you can still see to the other end. On the East side it is not visible from the new River Road. Last time I was in that are a contractor had a mound of dirt blocking the view.
Chris
JLo wrote:What is the status of the tunnel under the Palisades at Edgewater?
Inactive but still there. Used as a conduit for piping, IIRC. It was originally to be used for HBLRT, but Edgewater fought hard to change the route and have a widened River Rd. instead.