The anniversary of Hurricane Sandy has come and gone, and an independent review of how New Jersey’s transportation agency responded to the storm has yet to be released, despite officials’ assurances that it would be completed months ago.
New Jersey Transit’s rolling stock and infrastructure suffered more than $400 million in damage from the storm, including more than $100 million to rail cars and locomotives that were left in rail yards in Hoboken and Kearny.
At a board meeting last December, NJ Transit Executive Director James Weinstein said the agency’s response to the storm would be reviewed by the Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service, a specialist in emergency-response training and preparedness.
Weinstein said TEEX “will do an objective, professional and constructive critique of how NJ Transit reacted to Hurricane Sandy and what can be done better,” according to minutes from a meeting. Agency officials said the review would be completed in the spring.
NJ Transit spokeswoman Nancy Snyder said Wednesday that the report is being finalized and should be completed in the next few weeks. Snyder didn’t say why it has taken several months longer than expected.
A spokesman for TEEX didn’t respond to a similar question this week.