Counties applaud state support of MOM Citing the critical need for transit investments to be made in Ocean and Monmouth counties, officials in both counties praised the action of NJ Transit in providing additional funding of $2,4 million to study a proposed rail line. Ocean County has been working with Monmouth County to garner support and move the rail line forward. County officials gave their support to the added funding in addition to providing testimony at a public hearing on the second Hudson River tunnel. In a joint statement made by the Ocean and Monmouth County Boards of Chosen Freeholders, the officials said the tunnel project was arguably the most significant regional infrastructure project of this generation. The Freeholders noted that the advancement of the tunnel project presents a unique opportunity to make the MOM project a reality. New Jersey Transit currently is studying different alternatives to the proposed MOM Rail Line that would originate in Lakehurst. Ocean and Monmouth counties support the Lakehurst-to-Monmouth Junction MOM alternative. The Monmouth Junction route, Ocean and Monmouth officials say, will provide greater congestion relief for over-crowded roads like Route 9 and the Garden State Parkway while providing public transportation alternatives to the fast growing areas of Western Monmouth and Southern Middlesex counties. The additional funds from NJ Transit will be used to continue to fund a contract with Systra Contracting to consider the affect of building the tunnel and extending the one-seat service to New York on the proposed MOM rail line. The current Draft Environmental Impact Study for the MOM rail line would now look at how the tunnel would affect ridership, station size and parking needs.