South Amboy, New Jersey

South Amboy is a city in Middlesex County, New Jersey, on the Raritan Bay. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population was 8,631, reflecting an increase of 718 (+9.1%) from the 7,913 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in turn increased by 50 (+0.6%) from the 7,863 counted in the 1990 Census.

South Amboy, and Perth Amboy across the Raritan River, are collectively referred to as The Amboys. Signage for Exit 11 on the New Jersey Turnpike refers to "The Amboys" as a destination.

History

The area around Perth Amboy was called "Ompoge" (meaning "level ground") by Lenape Native Americans and became a key port for commerce between Lower New York Bay and Philadelphia, connected first by stagecoach and eventually by railroad. When settled in 1684, the city was named New Perth in honor of James Drummond, Earl of Perth, one of the associates of a company of Scottish proprietaries. The Algonquian language name was corrupted to Ambo, or Point Amboy, and eventually a combination of the native and colonial names was used.

South Amboy (NJT station)

South Amboy is a station on New Jersey Transit's North Jersey Coast Line located in South Amboy, New Jersey, United States. The station is 2½ miles south of Perth Amboy station and 5 miles northwest of Aberdeen-Matawan station. Electric trains from the north started terminating here in 1938, and many still do. This station is located at grade level on Mason Street, and has a high-level island platform serving two tracks.

Station layout

South Amboy station recently finished being upgraded for ADA and handicap access. Phase one of this project included the building of a new pedestrian overpass allowing safe transfers across the two tracks at the station. The bridge cost a total of $4.8M when it opened on 14 March 2005.

The second engineering and construction phase consisted of replacing the two original low-level side platforms with a new ADA-accessible high-level island platform and a reconstruction of the current station building. Among the new improvements to the station are a new ticket office, canopies, lighting, and signage. The cost of the new platform and station amenities amounts to $29M. The second phase of improvements was completed on January 5, 2010.