Friday morning officials from the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, and the citizens of Harrison, welcomed Governor Chris Christie to the Harrison PATH rail station, which is being transformed into a modern 21st century glass-and-steel facility.

The new $256 million Harrison PATH rail station is just another step in the efforts to modernize the town of Harrison. The new station’s shiny glass-and-steel design will fit in with the surrounding area’s redevelopment plans to make it more of a commercial and residential center. The current PATH station opened in 1936 and it has been considered an industrial warehouse area.

As Governor Christie toured the site this morning with Port Authority officials, members of the Town Council and Harrison Mayor Raymond J. McDonough, hundreds of workers looked on with excitement. The same can likely be said of casual observers heading into the station as part of their morning commute.

“As commuter ridership and transportation needs grow, we must continue to make necessary infrastructure modernization investments,” said Governor Christie. “This much-needed PATH project represents another positive step in making Harrison a vibrant, mixed-use commuter transit hub while spurring community revitalization, job creation and business investment in Harrison and the region.”

Many changes will be made at the station to accommodate the more than 70 million passengers who take the PATH every year. Platforms will be made longer for 10-car trains compared to the current eight-car train limit, which will result in increased travel on the entire Newark-World Trade Center PATH line. The station is also expected to create more than 450 new jobs upon its completion in 2017.

For current PATH riders, services will not be interrupted while the new rail station is being constructed. Red Bulls fans that travel to matches by way of the PATH are sure to enjoy the new modernized facility, which will serve as the gateway to Red Bull Arena.