On Tuesday, Senator Robert Menendez and Congressman Frank Pallone joined NJ Transit Executive Director Richard Sarles and other officials at a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new 477-space parking lot that more than doubles parking capacity at Edison Station on the Northeast Corridor rail line.

The lot opens to customers Jan. 1.

The event marked the first of NJ Transit’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) projects reaching completion and was finished within budget and ahead of schedule. Petillo Inc. of Flanders, N.J., was awarded a $4.7 million construction contract in April.

“NJ Transit was pleased to accelerate this project because we understand that adequate parking helps residents choose public transportation, which saves our customers money and benefits the environment,” said NJ Transit's Sarles. “That’s why we have worked independently and with private developers and local governments to add more than 14,000 parking spaces throughout the state over the past several years.”

The new lot offers 120 daily spaces and 357 permit parking spaces. A walkway connects the lot to Plainfield Avenue, from which customers can access the Edison Station building and the inbound and outbound platforms.

With the opening of the new lot, commuters will have access to 816 parking spaces, including 339 in the reconfigured existing lots between Central Avenue and the inbound boarding platform. The lot closest to the station building was repaved as part of the project, and a small outdoor plaza with tables and benches was installed just south of the station building.