PORT AUTHORITY SHORTLISTS THREE TEAMS FOR GOETHALS BRIDGE PROJECT
  The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey shortlisted three teams to design, build, finance and maintain the $1.6 billion replacement Goethals Bridge.  

The Port Authority is due to issue the final request for proposals in the third quarter of 2011, with a deadline for responses before the end of this year.  The goal is to complete construction during 2017.  

The teams shortlisted are:

• Goethals Bridge Development Group --- ACS Infrastructure Development, Dragados USA, Gannett Fleming Engineers and Architects, Granite Construction Northeast, John Laing Investments, TY Lin International.
• Metro Bridge Partners --- MNII USA II, PB Americas, Skanska Infrastructure Development, Skanska Koch, Skanska USA Civil Northeast, Traylor Brothers.
• NYNJ Link Partnership --- Kiewit Infrastructure, Macquarie Infrastructure & Real Assets, Parsons Transportation Group of New York, Transfield Services North America, Weeks Marine.

The funding will allow state, county and local agencies to flood-proof buildings, take at-risk properties off owners' hands and minimize the impact that floods have on residents.  

Wayne Township will get the largest grant with almost $25 million approved.  About $7 million will go to Little Falls Township to acquire 15 properties and elevate five others.  The Mills Street Bridge in Essex County will be retrofitted at a cost of $500,000.

PSE&G SEEKS APPROVAL FOR $350 MILLION TRANSMISSION UPGRADE
  Public Service Electric & Gas filed an application with the State Board of Public Utilities for a major transmission upgrade project planned to cost between $300 and $350 million.  The project will cut through 15 Northern and Central New Jersey communities, from West Orange to the Sewaren section of Woodbridge.  

The North Central Reliability Project would replace 35 miles of existing 138-volt power lines with 230-kilovolt transmission lines and would upgrade seven stations and substations.  

PSE&G said the project would ensure reliability and improve outdated infrastructure dating to the 1920's. The company will be holding a workshop from  4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, July 7 at the Westminster Hotel, 550 W. Mt. Pleasant Avenue, Livingston, NJ 07039.  

GROUND BROKEN FOR NORTH BERGEN RENTAL APARTMENT COMPLEX
  Ground was broken for Avalon North Bergen, a 164-unit rental community with 17,000-square feet of ground-floor retail space. It will feature studio, one and two-bedroom apartments, a clubhouse, fitness center and underground parking garage.  

The project, the 15th in New Jersey by Avalon Bay Communities, is located at Kennedy Boulevard and 56th Street in the Hudson County municipality.  Construction is scheduled to be completed in spring 2012.  

NJ TRANSIT GETTING $800,000 FOR ANTI-IDLING DIESEL TECHNOLOGY
  NJ Transit will be allocated $800,000 by the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority to retrofit some of the older diesel-powered trains with anti-idling technology.  NJ Transit will provide $200,000 in matching funds.  

The new technology will allow the trains to automatically shut down, rather than idling for long periods of time, thus reducing fuel use, emissions and noise.  

SIX COMMUNITIES TO RECEIVE $3.4 MILLION IN FEDERAL CLEANUP GRANTS
  Six New Jersey municipalities have been awarded a total of $3.4 million in federal grants to clean up and redevelop contaminated brownfield sites.  

U.S. Senator Frank Lautenberg announced that Newark and Trenton each will receive $1 million grants. The remaining awards, ranging from $200,000 to $400,000 go to Jersey City, Elizabeth, Mantus and Maurice River.  

FORT LEE SITE SCHEDULED FOR MAJOR REDEVELOPMENT
  Agreement has been reached between the Borough of Fort Lee and two private developers for a massive redevelopment of a long vacant site.  The 16-acre project will include retail, residential and, perhaps, hotel and office components.  

The Borough Council designated Tucker Development of Fort Lee Redevelopment Associates (FLRA) as redevelopers of the site.  Tucker's mixed-use plan for the West Parcel, called "Hudson Lights," will feature at least 165,000 square feet of ground-level retail space.  FLRA's plan for the East Parcel will provide two residential towers, each containing 450 residences.  

RUTGERS BEGINS CONSTRUCTION IN CAMDEN ON CAMPUS HOUSING
  Rutgers University in Camden began construction on a 12-story student housing residence hall --- the first new student housing development since 1989 on the Rutgers-Camden campus. It is scheduled for completion by August 2012.  

The new facility will provide 102 units of three and four bedrooms.  Below the residential floors will be 7,000-square-feet of retail space.  

AGENDA SET FOR MONMOUTH COUNTY ALLIANCE MEETING
  The Monmouth County Alliance for Action will meet on Friday, July 8, with reports on Asbury Park, Fort Monmouth and Garden State Parkway Exit 105 on the agenda.  The meeting will be at Eagle Oaks Country Club, Farmingdale, with registration at 8:15 a.m. and the program at 9:00 a.m.  

The presentations will be:

• "Asbury Park:  Where the Music Lives" by Thomas Gilmour, Director, Asbury Park Department of Commerce and Economic Development.
• "FMERA - The Focus on Jobs" by Bruce Steadman, Director, Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Authority.
• "Reconfiguring GSP Exit 105 to Boost Fort Monmouth" by Robert Fischer, P.E., Assistant Chief Engineer, Design, NJ Turnpike Authority.

To register Go Here.  

ESSEX ALLIANCE TO HEAR REPORTS ON NEWARK'S ECONOMIC PLANS
  Newark's economic plans, the Ironbound and Essex County College will be the featured topics at the meeting on Thursday, July 28, of the Essex County Alliance for Action.  The meeting at the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority, (17th floor), One Newark Center, Newark, will begin with registration at 8:15 a.m. and the program at 9:00 a.m.  

The speakers will be: