State officials considered Bearfort Mountain in West Milford and Bowling Green Mountain in Jefferson the best locations for a metropolitan jetport in 1964. (Photo provided)
People who enjoy the natural beauty of Bearfort Mountain in West Milford and Bowling Green Mountain in Jefferson might have been looking at a metropolitan jetport on one of those mountains if Gov. Richard Hughes had his way in the early 1960s.
In 1963, Hughes appointed Robert Roe as commissioner of the state Department of Conservation and Economic Development. In that capacity, Roe, along with Francis Gerard, chief of the Bureau of Aeronautics, prepared a 1964 report titled “Economic Benefits and Location Criteria for the Establishment of a Major Metropolitan Airport in New Jersey.”
The final report was supported by more than eight years of intensive study and analysis by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the Port of New York Authority and numerous expert technical consultants.
The summary of the report said the need for such a facility was well-documented. “The increase in air traffic is rapidly exceeding the existing and planned future of our present airports,” it said. “The advantages of locating the airport in New Jersey stem from its tremendous economic impact - over 134,000 new jobs and an annual payroll of over $700,000,000.”
The study indicated that two sites in New Jersey met all generally accepted criteria for a major metropolitan airport. One was in West Milford and Vernon known as the Bearfort site. The second was in Jefferson and Sparta known as the Bowling Green site.
Discussing the economic benefits, Roe said that when in full operation, the airport would provide jobs for about 5 percent of the total number of workers in northeastern Jersey and 1.5 percent of all those employed in the metropolitan region.
Of the 134,580 new jobs created by the airport, 28,300 would be at the airport. These would be for flight and ground crews, airline personnel, and consumer service employees. In direct support of those employed at the airport would be an additional 11,000 at off-site facilities.
Those 39,300 would create an additional 55,830 jobs with a total annual income of $265.2 million.
Supplies, equipment, maintenance, and other goods and services are required by any new major airport. The purchases generally made locally. It is estimated that a new airport of the size contemplated would require 16,400 new workers, to which wages totaling $78 million would be paid annually.
During the initial construction of the airport, estimated to take a minimum of five years, at least $35 million would be spent for construction labor. The project was expected to require an average of 1,500 to 2,000 workers a day. Traditionally this labor force is recruited from local sources, the report said.
In addition, construction materials and equipment would be acquired locally.
Population gains in areas surrounding the airport would produce a tremendous increase in purchasing power and retail and service establishments could be expected to benefit enormously, Roe said.
He believed the establishment of a major airport by itself would attract industrial, wholesale, research and laboratory uses to surrounding municipalities.
The New York-New Jersey Metropolitan Area at the time was served by three regional airports, Newark, LaGuardia and John F. Kennedy International. In 1953, these facilities handled 8.2 million passengers. Five years later, the figure had increased to 13.5 million. It was estimated that 19.3 million would use the three airports in 1963.
By 1970, the expected demand was 32 million, and by 1975, it was expected to more than double from 1963 traffic to 41 million.
In 2023, the three airports had a total of 144 million passengers. The total was 3 percent above the previous record of 140 million set in 2019.
Safety is key
The report said a key factor in locating a new airport was air safety. It showed that the intense concentration of major air facilities in the region - commercial and military - severely limited the areas where a new major facility could be located.
Where Bearfort and Bowling Green are located met all FAA standards. A major airport of the type needed to accommodate air traffic to meet demands of the metropolitan region required 10,000 acres: about 4,000 for the airport and 6,000 for buffer areas.
Open land with little or no development was seen as essential to minimize inconveniences and reduce site acquisition and relocation costs. Both sites met that requirement.
In addition, the Bearfort site had the advantage of being surrounded by publicly owned lands. This would reduce the need for acquisition of the 6,000 acres needed for buffers because private development was severely restricted in these areas.
The Bowling Green site had less publicly owned land adjacent to it, principally the Picatinny Arsenal on the southeast side of the site.
Both the Bearfort and Bowling Green sites were conveniently located with respect to the population centers they would serve. Existing and proposed highway improvements would serve both sites and rail facilities were available as well.
An estimated 3.7 million people lived within 60 minutes driving time of the Bearfort site and 3 million of Bowling Green.
The report said location of the site at Bearfort or Bowling Green was logical in terms of future growth. The Regional Plan Association in its “Spread City” report, published in 1963, predicted that the major population increase would take place in the counties west of the Hudson River.
Roe’s report said the nine New Jersey counties in the region would add 2,375,000 people by 1980, an increase of 54 percent. The 10 New York counties east of the Hudson, excluding Orange and Putnam, would increase by 1,729,000 or about 15 percent, according to the estimates. The 1980 population within 60 minutes of Bearfort was expected to increase to 5,230,000, and 4,115,000 were expected to reside within 60 minutes of Bowling Green.
Rail access
The report discussed rail access to the airport. It noted the Bearfort site was about five miles north of the New York, Susquehanna and Western Railroad at Newfoundland. Access from Manhattan could be from Pennsylvania Station or Hudson Terminal to a proposed Erie-Lackawanna transfer in Harrison, then via the Erie-Lackawanna to Montclair and over the proposed connection to the Greenwood Lake Branch at Upper Montclair.
A connection between the Greenwood Lake Branch and the Susquehanna would be needed at Pompton Lakes to provide a through route from the Erie Lackawanna transfer site. Rail access from Newark would be via the Erie Lackawanna.
The report said the Bowling Green site was about 10 miles north of the main line of the Erie-Lackawanna Railroad near Wharton. Access from Manhattan would be from Penn Station to Hudson Terminal to the proposed Erie-Lackawanna transfer in Harrison, then via the Erie Lackawanna through Newark, Morristown and Dover.
Roe reported that although both sites met generally accepted criteria as locations for a new metropolitan airport, additional studies had to be made to determine which was superior climatologically along with information about developmental cost factors.
A general study of the weather at both sites was made in February 1961 for the Port of New York Authority by the National Weather Forecasting Corp. Its report noted that climatological considerations did not preclude establishment of an airport near the two mountains.
Roe said detailed information was needed to supplement this general statement. “Specific information on the possible effects of adverse weather on the efficient operation of the airport at either site is needed,” the report said. It recommended a detailed and comprehensive climatological study be undertaken at both proposed sites.
The final recommendation in the Jetport New Jersey 1964 Metropolitan Airport report said determination of all factors affecting the cost of the airport and its supporting facilities and buffer areas could be used as a factor in selecting the final site. It recommended that detailed studies and evaluations be undertaken to determine the total cost of developing an airport at each site with all these factors considered.
It was recommended that the studies suggested by the FAA and the Port of New York Authority be started as soon as possible to realize the enormous benefits this new major airport would bring.
Obviously, the proposed airport was never built.
Soon after the Jetport New Jersey 1964 report was published, West Milford Mayor Warren Brogan met with Jefferson Mayor Samuel Sutphen, Sparta Mayor Emile Sorenson and Vernon Mayor Charles Sammas to work toward defeat of the Jetport New Jersey effort.
Brogan appointed the West Milford Township Jetport Study Committee. Another group, known as “Taxpayers for Jetport” supported creation of the jetport. Both sides fought long and hard.