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TECHNICAL REPORT ARCHITECTURAL HISTORY SURVEY OF OYSTER CREEK NUCLEAR GENERATING STATION, OCEAN COUNTY, NEW JERSEY PREPARED FOR ENERCON 500 TOWNPARK LANE KENNESAW, GA 30144 PREPARED BY SEARCH LLC 3117 EDGEWATER DRIVE ORLANDO, FL 32804 SEARCH PROJECT NO. 240147 MARCH 2025
TECHNICAL REPORT ARCHITECTURAL HISTORY SURVEY OF OYSTER CREEK NUCLEAR GENERATING STATION, OCEAN COUNTY, NEW JERSEY PREPARED FOR:
ENERCON 500 TOWNPARK LANE KENNESAW, GA 30144 PREPARED BY:
SEARCH LLC 3117 EDGEWATER DRIVE ORLANDO, FL 32804 REPORT AUTHORED BY BRYAN HERLING, ALLEN KENT, ASHLEY PARHAM BRYAN HERLING, MA, MDS PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR MARCH 2025 SEARCH PROJECT NO. 240147 WWW.SEARCHINC.COM
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SEARCH March 2025 Architectural History Survey of Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station, Ocean County, New Jersey Technical Report iii Executive Summary EXECUTIVE
SUMMARY
SEARCH conducted an architectural history survey of the Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station (OCNGS) in Lacey Township, Ocean County, New Jersey, on November 5, 2024. SEARCH was contracted by ENERCON on behalf of Holtec International (Holtec) to fulfill historic property identification required by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). The survey included buildings and structures within the Survey Area that were built prior to 1980.
The results of the architectural history survey support ENERCON in the preparation of an environmental review for Holtec. Holtec is seeking approval from the NRC to terminate the operating license at OCNGS, and the environmental review is required per the procedures for license termination under Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) Part 52 (Licenses, Certifications, and Approvals for Nuclear Power Plants). As part of the environmental review, NRC advised Holtec to complete the architectural history survey in anticipation of formal consultation between the NRC and the New Jersey Historic Preservation Office (NJ HPO) under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) of 1966 and implementing regulations of 36 CFR Part 800 (Protection of Historic Properties). Section 106 of the NHPA requires federal agencies to take into account the effects of their actions on historic properties that are listed or eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP).
The purpose of the architectural history survey is to identify and provide NRHP eligibility recommendations for aboveground cultural resources within the OCNGS Complex. The anticipated area of potential effects (APE) for the license termination is the OCNGS licensed operational area, herein designated as the Survey Area. The survey was conducted in accordance with the NJ HPO Guidelines for Architectural Survey. SEARCH surveyed two previously recorded bridges within the Survey Area: South Branch of the Forked River Trestle and Oyster Creek Trestle. Both of these bridges were initially determined to be eligible for listing in the NRHP in 2009 and were re-evaluated and determined to remain eligible in 2022. The condition of these two bridges has not changed since the 2022 determination, and as such SEARCH recommends no change to the eligibility status of these two resources. The termination of the OCNGS operating license will have No Effect on South Branch of the Forked River Trestle or the Oyster Creek Trestle.
SEARCH identified 12 newly recorded pre-1980 resources within the Survey Area. Additionally, one resource, the OCNGS Complex, consists of four interconnected facilities. SEARCH recommends all 12 newly recorded resources not eligible for NRHP inclusion. No further architectural history work is recommended for the Survey Area.
Bryan Herling, MA, MDS, served as Principal Investigator for the architectural history survey. Mr.
Herling meets the Secretary of the Interiors Standards and Guidelines for Architectural History and Historic Preservation (48 FR 44716-42).
March 2025 SEARCH Technical Report Architectural History Survey of Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station, Ocean County, New Jersey SEARCH Project Team iv SEARCH PROJECT TEAM Management Bill Werner, MA Field Crew Bryan Herling, MA, MDS Report Preparation Bryan Herling, MA, MDS Allen Kent, PhD Ashley Parham, PhD GIS Mapping Sarah St. Pierre Logistics and Administration Ryan Stevens
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Table of Contents TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Figures.................................................................................................................................. vi List of Tables................................................................................................................................... vi Acronyms and Abbreviations......................................................................................................... vii Introduction.................................................................................................................................... 1 Research Design.............................................................................................................................. 3 Objectives.................................................................................................................................. 3 Expected Properties.................................................................................................................. 3 Methodology............................................................................................................................. 3 Architectural History Methods........................................................................................... 3 Criteria for Determining Significance.................................................................................. 4 Explanation and Justification of Survey Area Boundary..................................................... 5 Historical Overview......................................................................................................................... 7 Lacey Township and Ocean County, New Jersey...................................................................... 7 Boiling and Pressurized Water Reactors................................................................................... 9 Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station............................................................................... 10 Architectural History Results........................................................................................................ 15 Architectural Styles Represented in the Survey Area............................................................. 17 No Style - Industrial........................................................................................................... 17 No Style............................................................................................................................. 18 Demolished Buildings.............................................................................................................. 18 NRHP Evaluations.................................................................................................................... 19 Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station Complex......................................................... 19 Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station Reactor/Turbine Building Complex................ 20 Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station Intake Structure............................................. 25 Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station Canal............................................................... 26 Diesel Generator Building................................................................................................. 27 Old Rad Waste.................................................................................................................. 27 New Rad Waste................................................................................................................. 28 Materials Warehouse........................................................................................................ 29 Pump Building and Reservoir............................................................................................ 30 Barnegat Branch Railroad................................................................................................. 31 Barnegat Branch Railroad Spur......................................................................................... 32 Barnegat Branch Railroad Spur Bridge Remnant.............................................................. 33 South Branch of the Forked River Trestle (Barnegat Branch Railroad)............................ 34 Oyster Creek Trestle (Barnegat Branch Railroad)............................................................. 35 Conclusions and Recommendations............................................................................................. 37 References Cited........................................................................................................................... 39
March 2025 SEARCH Technical Report Architectural History Survey of Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station, Ocean County, New Jersey List of Figures vi LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station Location, Ocean County, NJ.......................... 2 Figure 2. Architectural History Survey Results............................................................................. 16 Figure 3. OCNGS Reactor/Turbine Building Complex, facing west............................................... 17 Figure 4. OCNGS Complex. View facing northeast....................................................................... 19 Figure 5. OCNGS Reactor/Turbine Building Complex Detail......................................................... 21 Figure 6. Labeled diagram of GE BWR-2 reactor used at OCNGS (OCNGS n.d.)........................... 22 Figure 7. Top: Rendering showing arrangement of Reactor Building (General Electric, n.d.).
Bottom: Labeled diagram of Mark I Containment System (OCNGS n.d.)................... 23 Figure 8. Turbine Generator building, facing northeast (top left); Reactor building, facing northwest (top right); Office, facing northwest (bottom left); Machine Shop, facing northeast (bottom right).................................................................................. 24 Figure 9. OCNGS Intake Structure. View facing northwest (top left), view facing northeast (top right), view facing north (bottom left), and view facing west (bottom right).... 25 Figure 10. OCNGS Canal, view facing south.................................................................................. 26 Figure 11. Diesel Generator Building, view facing northwest...................................................... 27 Figure 12. Old Rad Waste, view facing west................................................................................. 28 Figure 13. New Rad Waste, view facing west............................................................................... 28 Figure 14. Materials Warehouse, view facing southeast............................................................. 29 Figure 15. Pump Building and Reservoir, view facing southwest................................................. 30 Figure 16. Barnegat Branch Railroad, view facing north.............................................................. 31 Figure 17. Barnegat Branch Railroad Spur, view facing northwest.............................................. 33 Figure 18. Barnegat Branch Railroad Spur Bridge Remnant, view facing southeast.................... 34 Figure 19. South Branch of the Forked River Trestle (Barnegat Branch Railroad), view facing southeast.................................................................................................................... 35 Figure 20. Oyster Creek Trestle (Barnegat Branch Railroad), view facing northeast).................. 35 LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Architectural History Resources within Survey Area...................................................... 15 Table 2. Architectural Styles within the Survey Area................................................................... 17 Table 3. Pre-1980 Buildings and Structures Demolished Prior to Survey.................................... 18
SEARCH March 2025 Architectural History Survey of Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station, Ocean County, New Jersey Technical Report vii Acronyms and Abbreviations ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS AEC Atomic Energy Commission APE area of potential effects ac acres ca.
circa NHPA National Historic Preservation Act NJ HPO New Jersey Historic Preservation Office NRC United States Nuclear Regulatory Committee NRHP National Register of Historic Places NRTS National Reaction Testing Station OCNGS Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station US United States USGS United States Geological Survey
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SEARCH March 2025 Architectural History Survey of Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station, Ocean County, New Jersey Technical Report 1
Introduction INTRODUCTION SEARCH conducted an architectural history survey of the OCNGS in Lacey Township, Ocean County, New Jersey, on November 5, 2024 (Figure 1). SEARCH was contracted by ENERCON on behalf of Holtec to fulfill historic property identification required by the NRC. The survey included buildings and structures within the Survey Area that were built prior to 1980.
The results of the architectural history survey support ENERCON in the preparation of an environmental review for Holtec. Holtec is seeking approval from the NRC to terminate the operating license at OCNGS, and the environmental review is required per the procedures for license termination under Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) Part 52 (Licenses, Certifications, and Approvals for Nuclear Power Plants). As part of the environmental review, NRC advised Holtec to complete the architectural history survey in anticipation of formal consultation between the NRC and the NJ HPO under Section 106 of the NHPA of 1966 and implementing regulations of 36 CFR Part 800 (Protection of Historic Properties). Section 106 of the NHPA requires federal agencies to take into account the effects of their actions on historic properties that are listed or eligible for listing in the NRHP.
The purpose of the architectural history survey is to identify and provide NRHP eligibility recommendations for aboveground cultural resources within the OCNGS Complex. The anticipated APE for the license termination is the OCNGS licensed operational area, herein designated as the Survey Area. The survey was conducted in accordance with the NJ HPO Guidelines for Architectural Survey.
SEARCH surveyed two previously recorded bridges within the Survey Area: South Branch of the Forked River Trestle and Oyster Creek Trestle. Both of these bridges were initially determined to be eligible for listing in the NRHP in 2009 and were re-evaluated and determined to remain eligible in 2022. The condition of these two bridges has not changed since the 2022 determination, and as such SEARCH recommends no change to the eligibility status of these two resources. The termination of the OCNGS operating license will have No Effect on South Branch of the Forked River Trestle or the Oyster Creek Trestle. SEARCH identified 12 newly recorded pre-1980 resources within the Survey Area. Additionally, one resource, the OCNGS Complex, consists of four interconnected facilities. SEARCH recommends all 12 newly recorded resources not eligible for NRHP inclusion. No further architectural history work is recommended for the Survey Area.
March 2025 SEARCH Technical Report Architectural History Survey of Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station, Ocean County, New Jersey Introduction 2
Figure 1. Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station Location, Ocean County, NJ.
SEARCH March 2025 Architectural History Survey of Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station, Ocean County, New Jersey Technical Report 3
Research Design RESEARCH DESIGN OBJECTIVES The intensive-level survey objective is to:
- Identify historic-age architectural history resources within the Survey Area; and
- Evaluate historic-age (pre-1980) architectural history resources within Survey Area for NRHP eligibility.
EXPECTED PROPERTIES SEARCH reviewed the NRHP database and the NJ HPO LUCY database prior to fieldwork to identify previous cultural resource investigations and previously recorded resources within the Survey Area. Two previously recorded bridges, the South Branch of the Forked River Trestle (Barnegat Branch Railroad) and the Oyster Creek Trestle (Barnegat Branch Railroad) were identified within the Survey Area. Both resources received a Certification of Eligibility in 2009 and were re-evaluated and determined to remain eligible for listing in the NRHP in 2022. These resources are described in the Results section. Given the presence of these two bridges, fieldwork was conducted to identify any remnants of the Barnegat Branch Railroad in the Survey Area. No physical evidence of the railroad remains, though the corridor is documented below.
The site of OCNGS between Oyster Creek and the South Branch of the Forked River was undeveloped prior to the construction of OCNGS. As such, aside from the previously mentioned railroad-related resources, only industrial resources related to OCNGS were expected to be identified within the Survey Area.
METHODOLOGY Architectural History Methods SEARCH conducted architectural history survey in compliance with NJ HPO survey guidance, specifically the NJ HPO Guidelines for Architectural Survey. The architectural history survey used NJ HPO survey procedures for the location, investigation, and recordation of historic resources built prior to 1980. SEARCH architectural historians reviewed USGS quadrangle maps and historic aerial photographs to identify pre-1980 resources. Field survey documented extant historic-age buildings, structures, and objects within the Survey Area. SEARCH architectural historians photographed resources with a digital camera, and recorded pertinent information regarding architectural style, distinguishing characteristics, and condition. Architectural historians reviewed construction dates available through OCNGS site maps, historic topographic maps, and aerial photographs to determine which resources were surveyed.
March 2025 SEARCH Technical Report Architectural History Survey of Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station, Ocean County, New Jersey Research Design 4
Upon completion of fieldwork, dates of construction, design, architectural characteristics, overall condition, and resource location were carefully considered. SEARCH evaluated each resources significance and eligibility NRHP inclusion, and recommended it eligible or not eligible.
Additionally, SEARCH evaluated the facility in its entirety as a district.
Background research involved a review of available information for the Survey Area. This included a review of the NRHP database, historic maps and aerial photographs. SEARCH conducted this background research and literature review to provide information about the regions environment, historic occupation, and context for resources identified during survey.
Criteria for Determining Significance Cultural resources identified within the Survey Area were evaluated according to the NRHP criteria (36 CFR 60.4). As defined by the NPS (1997), the quality of significance in American history, architecture, archaeology, engineering, and culture is present in districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects that possess integrity of location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, and association, and:
A. that are associated with events or activities that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of our history; or B. that are associated with the lives of persons significant in our past; or C. that embody the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of construction, or that represent the work of a master, or that possess high artistic values, or that represent a significant and distinguishable entity whose components may lack individual distinction; or D. that have yielded, or may be likely to yield, information important in prehistory or history.
In addition to the four criteria used to evaluate above-ground historic resources, the concept of integrity is also considered. Integrity is an important qualification of NRHP eligibility and can be related to any or all of the following (NPS 1997):
- Location: the place where the historic property (or properties) was/were constructed or where the historic event(s) occurred.
- Design: the combination of elements that create the form, plan, space, structure, and style of a property (or properties).
- Setting: the physical environment of the historic property (or properties).
- Materials: the physical elements combined to create the property (or properties) during the associated period of significance.
- Workmanship: the physical evidence of the crafts of a particular culture or people during any given period in history or prehistory.
- Feeling: the propertys (or properties) expression of the aesthetic or historic sense of the period of significance.
- Association: the direct link between the important historic event(s) or person(s) and the historic property (or properties).
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Research Design NRHP-eligible districts must possess a significant concentration, linkage, or continuity of sites, buildings, structures, or objects united historically or aesthetically by plan or physical development. NRHP-eligible districts and buildings must also possess historic significance, historic integrity, and historical context.
Explanation and Justification of Survey Area Boundary The purpose of the architectural history survey is to identify and provide NRHP eligibility recommendations for aboveground cultural resources within the OCNGS Complex. The anticipated APE for the license termination is the OCNGS licensed operational area, herein designated as the Survey Area.
One resource located outside the OCNGS licensed operational area was included as part of this report based on information from OCNGS staff: The Pump House and Reservoir. This building (and associated feature) was sited along Oyster Creek to provide an emergency water supply for OCNGS.
March 2025 SEARCH Technical Report Architectural History Survey of Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station, Ocean County, New Jersey Research Design 6
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Historical Overview HISTORICAL OVERVIEW LACEY TOWNSHIP AND OCEAN COUNTY, NEW JERSEY The following presents a historic context of Ocean County and Lacey Township, New Jersey, the development of energy production using nuclear power, and the creation and operation of the OCNGS. Dutch explorers first landed in coastal New Jersey in the early 1600s, encountering Lenape American Indian groups and claiming the land as New Netherland. In 1664, the British took control and later renamed the area New Jersey. British settlements in todays Ocean County, including Toms River and Tuckerton, date to the early eighteenth century. An 1850 charter created Ocean County, the 20th county in the state, as a separate entity from Monmouth County.
The six townships that made up the county covered the second largest area in the state and included around 10,000 residents. The founders chose the centrally located Toms River as the county seat. The county includes more coastline than any other county in New Jersey, much of which consists of a narrow strip of island land between the Atlantic Ocean and Barnegat Bay, Little Egg Harbor, and Manahawkin Bay. The rivers, bays, and inlets of todays Ocean County provided sustenance to pioneer settlers and aided the development of the whaling and shipping industries. Lumber, shipbuilding, and small-scale agriculture also played prominent roles in the economy during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries (County of Ocean, New Jersey 2024; Wilson 1953). Cranberry production began in the mid-nineteenth century and served as an important agricultural crop during this period. By 1866, Ocean County produced the second-most cranberries of any county in the state, investing around $1 million in the industry (Sebold 1992).
The population of Ocean County grew slowly and steadily over the second half of the nineteenth century, expanding from just over 10,000 residents at the countys creation in 1850 to nearly 20,000 by 1900 (Community of Ocean, New Jersey 2024; Forestall 1996). Numerous communities formed along the coastal and interior regions of the county during the eighteenth century, though their growth remained limited until the mid-to late nineteenth century, given the lack of transportation infrastructure. Because waterways provided the most efficient transportation routes, many of these settlements formed along rivers, creeks, and streams that flowed into the interior (Wilson 1953). Waretown, founded in the late 1730s as a religious community for Rogerene Baptists, grew around a grist mill built by Abraham Waeir on Waretown Creek. In the late nineteenth century, shipbuilding, cranberry farming, and tourismparticularly recreational fishing and wild game huntingmarked as the largest economic drivers (Allaback 1991). By the 1740s, settlers began communities in Cedar Creek, Forked River, and Good Luck based around a sawmill built by John Eastwood. Shipbuilding, bog iron ore production, commercial fishing, and lumber served as early industries, whose extractive natures brought decline by the mid-nineteenth century (May n.d.).
The arrival of railroad lines in the late nineteenth century further aided settlement and growth, with the lines shipping agricultural, natural, and manufactured products, bringing goods and people into Ocean County, and encouraging the development of a tourism industry along its islands and beaches. The Raritan and Delaware Bay Railroad, one of the first to be constructed north-south through the eastern portions of the state, received its charter in 1854 and planned
March 2025 SEARCH Technical Report Architectural History Survey of Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station, Ocean County, New Jersey Historical Overview 8
routes connecting the two bays that made up its name. The late 1860s and early 1870s brought two lines to eastern Ocean County, the Toms River Railroad and the Tuckerton Railroad.
Chartered in 1866, the Toms River Railroad extended from its named settlement to Waretown by 1872, passing through the newly formed Lacey Township (1871). During a period of consolidation in the late 1870s and early 1880s, the Raritan and Delaware Bay and the Toms River Railroad came under the control of the New Jersey Southern Railroad, which was then acquired by the Central Railroad of New Jersey. This latter entity often continued using the former railroad names to designate the various branches and routes of its extensive networks of tracks in the state. The first railroad bridges across Barnegat Bay to the islands and beach communities were constructed in the 1880s as well (Treese 2006; Wilson 1953).
As automobiles grew in availability and affordability in the early twentieth century, state and federal efforts increased to build networks of highway systems that connected both local communities and far-reaching regional centers. In addition to connecting settlements, reformers and state officials promoted better roads as a means of escape from urban areas and to allow more autonomy for farmers and other producers to get their products to market. Ocean communities saw an opportunity for increased traffic to their resorts, hotels, and businesses. By 1909, the state began studies and plans for an ocean boulevard traveling down the Atlantic Coast, connected to the mainland by numerous bridges. In 1912, this concept featured heavily in a state plan to construct over 1,500 miles of roadways, an undertaking that began soon after. In Ocean County, the state invested in improving established roadways, many of which followed previous local roads and the routes of railroad lines as these had previously connected the settlements in the interior. Following World War II, the Garden State Parkway, which travels through Ocean County, provided faster travel throughout the state, allowing for growth in suburban development outside of the industrial and urban areas that had typified settlement in the early twentieth century (KSK Architects Planners Historians, Inc. 2011).
Lacey Township remained small in the first half of the twentieth century, and less than 1,000 people lived in the township by 1950 (New Jersey State Data Center 2001). Suburban communities in Ocean County saw a substantial increase in population in the second half of the twentieth century. The combination of several factorsnew highway routes, post-World War II economic prosperity, and the postwar baby boombrought growth to more rural and less populated counties like Ocean County. Widely available land on the mainland areas brought suburban development, while island areas welcomed larger growing numbers of tourists with disposable income (New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development 2011). Ocean Countys population grew from over 56,000 in 1950 to over 108,000 in 1960 and again grew substantially to over 208,000 in 1970. In 1966, Ocean County was named New Jerseys fastest growing county. Lacey Township also grew during the post-World War II era and reached over 1,000 residents for the first time in 1960, when the census counted the population at 1,940. This substantial growth continued, with the population expanding more than two-fold to 4,616 in 1970 (County of Ocean, New Jersey 2024; Forestall 1996; New Jersey State Data Center 2001).
The coastal nature of this region, while a driving factor in growing its population and businesses development, also left the area susceptible to major weather events. In March 1962, a devastating noreaster wreaked havoc on the New Jersey coast. What came to be known as the
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Historical Overview Great Ash Wednesday Storm caused incredible destruction, killing 22 people between North Carolina and New York. More than 50,000 buildings were damaged or destroyed in New Jersey, with an estimate of $800,000 worth of property damage in New Jerseys three shore counties (McCabe & Associates, Inc. 2006; Meyer 2013; Urgo and Wood 2012). Though numerous storms brought damage to the New Jersey coast following the 1962 storm, few had the impact of Hurricane Sandy in October 2012, a massive storm with a wind field of over 1,100 miles. Nearly 350,000 homes were damaged or destroyed, and Ocean and Monmouth Counties received the worst of the devastation. New Jersey residents made up 34 of the 117 people killed in the storm.
However, much like the 1962 storm, local people and businesses chose to rebuild, aided by federal government efforts and funding. (Holcomb 2016; Kaysen 2014; McIntyre 2022; Meyer 2013).
The continued growth of this area is reflected in the late twentieth and early twentieth century census records. After the immediate postwar growth brought Ocean County to over 208,000 by 1970, the population grew further in the following decades. By 1980, over 346,000 residents lived in Ocean County, expanding to over 433,000 in 1990 and nearly 511,000 in 2000. From 2000 to 2010, the population grew more slowly, reaching 576,000 in 2010 and then over 637,000 in 2020.
Growth in Lacey Township accelerated even faster in the later decades of the twentieth century.
From 4,616 in 1970, Laceys 1980 population exploded to 14,616 and again rising substantially to 21,414 in 1990. The population growth leveled off and slowed substantially in the twenty-first century, growing modestly to 25,346 in 2000, 27,644 in 2010, and 28,655 in 2020 (Forestall 1996; New Jersey State Data Center 2001; US Census Bureau 2024).
BOILING AND PRESSURIZED WATER REACTORS Beginning in the early 1950s, the Argonne National Laboratory, an Illinois facility designed and operated by the University of Chicago, identified the means to safely transfer heat of usable nuclear energy in commercial uses. Researchers, including Samuel Untermeyer II and Walter Zinn, identified a theory that energy could be harnessed and controls by a cooling and transferring the energy created by the fashioning elements. However, the sensitivity of the fissioning elements and potential for an accidental release of nuclear materials meant that significant testing had to be completed in order to assure that the water boiled at a consistent pace; slight changes in temperature or the inability to maintain a smooth, consistent surface of the water could have potentially devastating effects. Untermyer and Walter Zinn developed the Boiling Water Reactor Experiment (BORAX) to test the ability and safety of boiling water to contribute to harnessing nuclear power (New York Times 31 January 2001:A19; Stacy 2000:128 130).
Argonne and the University of Chicago helped to organize and conduct additional experiments that would lead to the establishment of a technology that could be used for commercial nuclear power generation. Lead by researcher Samuel Untermeyer II, Argonne and the National Reaction Testing Station (NRTS) in Idaho completed and readied the first testing reactor in 1953. Over 14 months, Untermyer and the team conducted over 200 tests, helping to solidify his theory and
March 2025 SEARCH Technical Report Architectural History Survey of Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station, Ocean County, New Jersey Historical Overview 10 prove the practice successes of a boiling water reactor. At the ends of these experiments, the team held a threshold test, leading to the assumed destruction of the facilities in order the prepare for potential fallout. After the first threshold test, the team built a new, larger reactor known as BORAX II; the series continued through BORAX V and further solidified the use of boiling water reactors in producing nuclear power (Stacy 2000:128131).
OYSTER CREEK NUCLEAR GENERATING STATION Jersey Central Power & Light (JCP&L) first organized in 1923 as a consolidation of numerous smaller electric and gas companies, especially throughout New Jersey. Incorporated in Virginia, the companys formation brought together the light and power suppliers to around 40 communities in the state, some of the largest of which were suburban areas within commuting distance of New York City. By 1924, the communities served had risen to 64 and included Morristown, Summit, Lakewood, Spring Lake, Toms River, Long Branch, Asbury Park, Seabright, and Monmouth Beach. JCP&L owned the outstanding stocks and bonds of the Central Jersey Power and Light Company, Lakewood & Coast Electric Company, Toms River Electric Company, Lakewood Water Company, Tri-County Electric Company, and the Consolidated Gas Company of New Jersey. In addition to its large electric and gas footprint in New Jersey, which contributed 80 percent of its earnings, the company also invested in companies providing power to Wilmington, North Carolina and St. Petersburg and Clearwater, Florida. Given the growing population of its customer base, JCP&L set itself up as a major power company in New Jersey and the larger Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions (Moody Manual Company 1924:2133; Springfield Daily News 23 May 1923).
In the early 1960s, JCP&L began making plans for the construction of a nuclear power plant, the first to be built in New Jersey. In March 1964, the company announced that it had awarded a contract for the OCNGS to Combustion Engineering. The new facility expected to deliver over 600,000 kilowatts of power provided by a 60-foot tall, 600-ton reactor vessel, with a minimum net capability of 515,000 kilowatts and the potential for up to 640,000 kilowatts (Central Jersey Home News 15 March 1964). JCP&L applied for a construction permit with the AEC in March 1964, anticipating that construction would begin in 1965 and with an expected opening in 1967.
Requirements of the AECs approval of the construction permit included public hearings for local citizens and concerned groups to voice potential issues regarding the plants construction and operation, which took place at the town hall in Toms River in October (AEC 1974; Asbury Park Evening Press 18 April 1964). With an estimated initial cost of $68 million, the project was managed by Donald R. Rees who tagged Donald E. Hetrick to serve as the first engineer. Together, the two oversaw the initial design, licensing, and construction of the project (Coast Star 2 April 1964). As designed, the plant would be the first completely commercial nuclear power plant; compared with previous nuclear ventures, Oyster Creek would not include research and experimentation as part of its design but would instead focus solely on power creation (Meyer 1964).
SEARCH March 2025 Architectural History Survey of Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station, Ocean County, New Jersey Technical Report 11 Historical Overview To oversee its entire project, JCP&L turned to Burns & Roe, Inc. The company was founded in 1932 as a partnership between Allen Burns and Ralph C. Roe (Moore et al 2010). Ralph Coats Roe was a self-taught mechanical and electrical engineer. Despite Burns leaving the company in 1935, Roe kept the name and incorporated that same year. At the time, the firm consisted of Roe, his wife Esther as secretary, and a draftsman (American Society of Mechanical Engineers 2024; Most 1969). The first contract won by Burns and Roe was to design a power plant in Lansing, Michigan.
In 1940, the firm received a contract on its first substantial military project to update and expand the power plant at the naval base in Norfolk, Virginia. As the company grew its reputation to include power plants and military installations, more contracts for these types of projects began arriving. In 1942 and 1943, Burns and Roe became involved with defense projects to dismantle existing power plants and ship them to new locations outside the US (Moore et al. 2010).
By 1948, a total of 300 employees worked for Burns and Roe, including Ralph Roes son, Kenneth, who joined in 1945 (Moore et al. 2010; Most 1969). As a result of their involvement in defense projects, the firm was able to expand their contract work during the Cold War. They pioneered the development of desalination plants and began working with the Air Force Research and Development Command in 1953. Burns and Roe helped design the Semi-Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) air warning network system and Nike-Zeus anti-missile system facilities (Moore et al. 2010; Most 1969). During this time, the firm secured contracts for the design and construction of numerous power plants including the development of nuclear facilities. In April 1955, Burns and Roe was selected to build the conventional electric generating portion of the Shippingport Atomic Power Station in Pennsylvania (Beaver 1987). By 1957, Burns and Roe had grown to include 1,000 employees (Moore et al. 2010; Most 1969). Throughout his career, Ralph Roe held nearly 50 patents generally relating to improvements for power plants and air conditioning (American Society of Mechanical Engineers 2022).
In 1963, Kenneth Roe became president of the firm with Ralph Roe moving to a chairman position (Most 1969; National Academy of Sciences 2024). Under the leadership of Kenneth Roe, Burns and Roe helped design and construct the OCNGS for JCP&L, as well as the Clinch River liquid-metal fast breeder reactor demonstration plant in Oak Ridge, Tennessee (Most 1969; National Academy of Sciences 2024). Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, the company continued to expand their work on nuclear power plants and began branching out into recycling plants. The resume of the firm now includes numerous projects for the Department of Defense, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and multiple national governments (Most 1969; National Academy of Sciences 2024).
In the early 1960s, nuclear reactor design and construction was still in its infancy; most nuclear power plants were in planning or construction phases, and no facilities had operated long enough to understand long-term implications. To gain a competitive edge on the developing market, General Electric (GE) chose to offer turnkey facilities, estimating the costs of building a commercial nuclear power site and offering a set price for their development. The company understood that it would likely lose money on the ventures but bet on gaining additional experience and outpacing its competitors. Calculating the cost of a similar coal-fired power plant, GE provided the $68 million price estimate for OCNGS, which JCP&L gladly accepted. The AEC and
March 2025 SEARCH Technical Report Architectural History Survey of Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station, Ocean County, New Jersey Historical Overview 12 even President Lyndon Johnson celebrated the cost estimate as a breakthrough in nuclear power production, believing that it would soon cost less than coal and other types of power production.
However, as the actual costs of nuclear power plants became clearerplants ordered in the mid to late 1960s frequently cost double original cost estimatesGE stopped offering turnkey plants by 1966 (Pool 1997).
GE contracted with JCP&L to develop the facilities at OCNGS and began constructing essential parts of the nuclear reactor (Pool 1997). The turbine-generator constructed by GE held a nameplate capacity of 640,000 kilowatts with a potential capacity of 670,000 kilowatts. As was by then common for boiling water reactors, the OCNGS reactor would be powered by fuel rods, comprised of Zircaloy-2 tubes filled with cylindrical slightly enriched uranium dioxide pellets (AEC 1974:3-1). Following the fission reaction, water cooled and moderated the reactor through a direct cycle system, rapidly heating the coolant water to steam that proceeded into the domed portion of the reactor vessel to then turn the turbine. After the steam turned the turbine-generator, the condensed steam ran through water pumps before being released through a discharge or coolant canal, returning to the facilitys namesake creek, which then fed into Barnegat Bay (AEC 1974).
As with many plants in the early history of nuclear power development, the chosen location of JCP&Ls facility included two major considerations - a readily available source of water for use in the reactor and the size of the surrounding population. Regarding the first consideration, the eastern portions of Ocean County, New Jersey allowed for a ready supply of water for a nuclear facility. Barnegat Bay and its tributaries, most specifically Oyster Creek and Forked River, could provide the amounts of water necessary to power the boiling water reactor. Populations surrounding the site of a nuclear power plant in this area proved a more complex issue. During the planning and construction period of the site, the population of Ocean County grew significantly. The increase in the county population far outpaced growth in the state between 1960 and 1970; though the number of New Jersey residents increased by over 18 percent during this period, Ocean Countys population nearly doubled. Though much of this latter growth occurred in coastal areas as beach tourism increased significantly, the population of Lacey Township increased by nearly 138 percent. This statistic was compounded by the large number of tourists who visited the countys beaches and state parks (AEC 1974). However, within the immediate vicinity of the stations potential location on Oyster Creek, the population remained minimal. In 1967, the estimated population within 1 mile of the site counted less than 200; within 5 miles, the estimated population totaled 4,637. No significant population centers existed within 10 miles of the chosen site, with the closest large cities being Atlantic City (35 miles), Philadelphia (50 miles), and Staten Island (50 miles). Dover Township, made up of several communities including Toms River, represented the largest population center near the site. This area grew substantially during the 1960s, growing from over 17,000 in 1960 to nearly 44,000 in 1970.
However, its 10 miles of separation made the population surrounding the chosen site at Oyster Creek safe for the development of a nuclear facility (AEC 1974; New Jersey State Data Center 2001; NRC 2005). A 1966 newspaper article discussing the coming of the facility described Ocean County as sparsely populated area made up of mostly resorts and pinelands, the latter of which made up nearly 60 percent of the countys total land (Dau 1966; AEC 1974).
SEARCH March 2025 Architectural History Survey of Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station, Ocean County, New Jersey Technical Report 13 Historical Overview The AEC granted a provisional permit for OCNGSs construction in December 1964, and JCP&L broke ground on the site the same month. Particularly in response to citizen concerns regarding the contamination of waters surrounding the plant, the AEC required JCP&L to provide long range plans regarding the use of waters and potential contamination issues for issuance of a full permit for the facility (Gershen 1965). With Burns & Roe serving as engineer-constructor and overseeing the project, they first contracted two New Jersey companies, Phillip J. Healey Inc. and Public Constructors Inc., hired to drill test borings and clear acreage around the site, respectively (Asbury Park Evening Press 4 February 1965a). While workers cleared the site and began pouring foundations, Combustion Engineering fabricated the 600-ton reactor vessel, while GE constructed the turbine-generator at its plant in Schenectady, New York. In May 1965, JCP&L announced that design, engineering, and construction remained on schedule, estimating that seven percent of the sites construction had been completed (Asbury Park Evening Press 15 May 1965b). During the first phase of building on the 850-acre siteof which only around 350 acres were under constructionJCP&L purchased an additional 750 acres in June 1966 for potential future expansion projects (Asbury Park Evening Press 30 June 1966; NRC 2005).
In December 1966, the over 650-ton reactor vessel arrived in New Jersey, setting records for being the largest and heaviest piece of atomic equipment transported. The vessel made the 6,000-mile trip from Combustion Engineerings facilities in Chattanooga, Tennessee via the Tennessee River, Mississippi River, Gulf of Mexico, and Atlantic Ocean. Following its water journey, the reactor vessel would be hauled by two cranes and transported to the site by a rail line constructed for this purpose. Additionally, Oyster Creek and two drainage canals needed to be widened, which also required the reconstruction of bridges over the waterways (Dau 1966; Morning Call 14 December 1966; Philadelphia Inquirer 1 December 1966). However, delays occurred throughout 1966, particularly regarding the specialized labor force needed to complete the facilities. By March 1967, the reactor vessel remained at the site but had not been put into its permanent place at the plant (Philadelphia Inquirer 2 March 1967). The delays continued throughout the year, including frequent work stoppages by unions citing unsafe conditions, and by summer 1967, delays pushed the potential opening of the facility to early 1968 (Asbury Park Evening Press 8 August 1967; Davies 1967). However, while additional changes to the cooling system to better protect wildlife and the discovery of cracks in piping for the plant further delayed its progress, JCP&L announced the construction of a second nuclear facility in February 1968 to be built in the vicinity of OCNGS (Daily Home News 2 February 1968). In April 1969, the AEC approved a low-power license for OCNGS, indicating that the facility finally neared completion and the production of nuclear power (AEC 1974; Courier Post 11 April 1969).
In May 1969, following years of delays on the project, the OCNGS loaded the fuel rods, reached criticality, and began the process of testing its facilities before creating power for the residents of New Jersey (Daily Register 6 May 1969). Though JCP&L had been at the forefront of establishing nuclear power facilities when the plant was contracted and construction begun, many other electricity companies had started building their own nuclear facilities by the time OCNGS began operating. In August 1969, the AEC issued a full license for the facility, which started working to produce power (Daily Register 5 August 1969). The final cost for the nuclear plant totaled more than $88 million, over $20 million more than initially estimated, and brought
March 2025 SEARCH Technical Report Architectural History Survey of Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station, Ocean County, New Jersey Historical Overview 14 calls from the public for JCP&L to sue General Electric (Asbury Park Evening Press 11 November 1969). The plant officially went into commercial service in December 1969 (Star Ledger 30 December 1969). This drastically increased the available energy JCP&L could provide to its customers, and by April 1970, the facility had contributed 1 billion kilowatt hours of power (Asbury Park Evening Press 10 April 1970). In the early 1970s, JCP&L employed around 100 people in permanent positions at OCNGS. The salaries of these works totaled $1.2 million, much of which was spent in the immediate vicinity of the plant. In addition to working on nuclear power production at the facility, certain employees also met with civic and environmental groups, governmental organizations, and schools to discuss nuclear power with local communities (AEC 1974).
During the first two decades of OCNGS operation the population surrounding the site grew substantially. While around 200 people lived within one mile of the site when JCP&L first applied for an operating license in 1967, that number grew to nearly 800 in 1990, increasing at a rate of 3.86. The population within five miles of the facility expanded at an even larger rate, growing from 4,637 to 34,380 (NRC 2005). By 2000, over 25,000 people lived in Lacey Township (New Jersey State Data Center 2001). In 2000, AmerGen Energy Company bought the OCNGS for
$10 million (Holtec Decomissioning International, personal communication, 2025). Continuing operations into the early twenty-first century, OCNGS employed over 450 people in 2003, with total salaries of $38 million for Ocean County-based workers plus another $10 million for New Jersey workers living outside of the county. That year, AmerGen (then owned by Exelon) paid over $11 million in local, state, and national taxes (AmerGen 2004). In 2018, the Oyster Creek plant was permanently shut down and had all of its fuel removed from the reactor, with Exelon transferring the property to Holtec for decommissioning (NRC 2024).
SEARCH March 2025 Architectural History Survey of Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station, Ocean County, New Jersey Technical Report 15 Architectural History Results ARCHITECTURAL HISTORY RESULTS The architectural history survey resulted in the identification and evaluation of twelve newly recorded historic resources and two previously recorded historic resources within the Survey Area (Table 1; Figure 2). Additionally, one resource, the OCNGS Reactor/Turbine Building Complex, consists of four interconnected facilities. The individual facilities comprising the OCNGS Reactor/Turbine Building Complex are Turbine Generator, Reactor, Office, and Machine Shop.
SEARCH surveyed two previously recorded bridges within the Survey Area (South Branch of the Forked River Trestle and Oyster Creek Trestle). Both of these bridges were initially determined to be eligible for listing in the NRHP in 2009 and were re-evaluated and determined to remain eligible in 2022. The condition of these two bridges has not changed since the 2022 determination, and as such SEARCH recommends no change to the eligibility status of these two resources. SEARCH recommends all other resources surveyed not eligible for NRHP inclusion.
SEARCH did not survey any buildings, structures, or additions within the Survey Area that were built after 1979 (i.e., those not yet of historic age). Resource descriptions and NRHP evaluations are included in detail below.
Table 1. Architectural History Resources within Survey Area.
Resource Name Resource Type Style Year Built Recommended NRHP Status Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station Complex District No Style - Industrial 1969 Ineligible Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station Reactor/Turbine Building Complex Building No Style - Industrial 1969 Ineligible Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station Intake Structure Structure No Style 1969 Ineligible Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station Canal Structure
- Canal No Style 1969 Ineligible Diesel Generator Building Building No Style - Industrial 1968 Ineligible Old Rad Waste Building No Style - Industrial 1968 Ineligible New Rad Waste Building No Style - Industrial 1978 Ineligible Materials Warehouse Building No Style - Industrial Ca. 1978 Ineligible Pump Building and Reservoir Building No Style - Industrial Ca. 1969-1972 Ineligible Barnegat Branch Railroad Railroad No Style Ca. 1872 Ineligible Barnegat Branch Railroad Spur Railroad No Style Ca. 1977 Ineligible Barnegat Branch Railroad Spur Bridge Remnant Bridge No Style Ca. 1977 Ineligible South Branch of the Forked River Trestle (Barnegat Branch Railroad)
Bridge No Style 1967 Eligible (No Change)
Oyster Creek Trestle (Barnegat Branch Railroad)
Bridge No Style Ca. 1967 Eligible (No Change)
March 2025 SEARCH Technical Report Architectural History Survey of Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station, Ocean County, New Jersey Architectural History Results 16 Figure 2. Architectural History Survey Results.
SEARCH March 2025 Architectural History Survey of Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station, Ocean County, New Jersey Technical Report 17 Architectural History Results ARCHITECTURAL STYLES REPRESENTED IN THE SURVEY AREA The Survey Area contains buildings and structures that represent the development of industrial and utilitarian architecture in the US during the mid-twentieth century.
Table 2 provides the architectural styles in the Survey Area, along with the number and percentages of resources of each style.
No Style - Industrial There are seven resources within the Survey Area with no distinct architectural style that feature characteristics common in industrial buildings (Figure 3).
Buildings erected for commercial and industrial use are sometimes referred to as being of the Industrial Vernacular style. Metal or wood frame materials are commonly used in construction.
Wood, concrete, masonry or metal panel clad the building exteriors, with factory-produced metal paneling more prevalent throughout the mid-to late twentieth century. There are typically no predominant decorative architectural details, as the buildings responded to the functional needs of the operations they housed and seldom were influenced by design innovations or stylistic movements (Ochsner 2014:353). Industrial Vernacular buildings are frequently found within energy sector-related and nuclear power plant properties nationally.
Characteristics of these industrial resources often include, but are not limited to:
Utilitarian or unornamented design; Use of popular, mass produced twentieth century materials such as concrete, aluminum, glass, steel, asbestos, and plastics; Metal framed windows of various configurations; and Flat roofs (Jevremovic et al. 2012).
Table 2. Architectural Styles within the Survey Area.
Architectural Style Number of Examples Percentage No Style - Industrial 7
50.00%
No Style 7
50.00%
Total 14 100.00%
Figure 3. OCNGS Reactor/Turbine Building Complex, facing west.
March 2025 SEARCH Technical Report Architectural History Survey of Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station, Ocean County, New Jersey Architectural History Results 18 No Style This term is generally applied to buildings, structures, objects, or transportation resources that do not display one singular style, or to which style does not pertain. Seven resources within the Survey Area possess no style.
DEMOLISHED BUILDINGS The OCNGS facility has evolved consistently since it began operation in 1969. As the configuration of the facility changed, buildings and support structures were altered, demolished, and replaced.
After the reactor was shut down in 2018, demolition efforts began throughout the facility as part of the decommissioning process. The table below (Table 3) shows the buildings and support structures from the final facility arrangement constructed prior to 1980 that had been demolished by the time of survey.
Table 3. Pre-1980 Buildings and Structures Demolished Prior to Survey.
Building Name OCNGS Building Number Year Built Year Demolished North Gate Security Building 6
Ca. 1978 2020 Torus Tank 7
Ca. 1975 2020 C.S.T.
8 1969 Ca. 2022 Storage Building 12 Ca. 1975 2019 Maintenance Building 15 Ca. 1978 Ca. 2021 Main Gate Security Building 20 Ca. 1978 Ca. 2022 Plant Engineering Building 21 Ca. 1975 2019 Off Gas Building 34 Ca. 1975 Ca. 2022
SEARCH March 2025 Architectural History Survey of Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station, Ocean County, New Jersey Technical Report 19 Architectural History Results NRHP EVALUATIONS Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station Complex The OCNGS Complex includes nine pre-1980 buildings and structures on an approximately 56.5 ha (139.6 ac) parcel and includes the OCNGS Reactor/Turbine Building Complex and its supporting facilities (Figure 4). Construction on the site began in 1964, and OCNGS began operations on December 23, 1969. Buildings and structures within the OCNGS Complex possess no distinct architectural style but have characteristics common for industrial facilities (sometimes referred to as Industrial Vernacular style, discussed above). Overall, the resources are utilitarian in design and possess little to no exterior ornamentation. For a full description of the resources historic context and development, see Historic Overview above. For individual resource descriptions and NRHP eligibility evaluations, see below.
The OCNGS Complex was the first nuclear plant constructed in New Jersey, but not the first in the region. The OCNGS Complex as a whole represents a mid-twentieth-century nuclear plant with a boiling water reactor used for power generation. The complex is not associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of history and is recommended not significant under Criterion A (see Criteria for Determining Significance, above). Background research indicates the complex lacks association with any person(s) significant in history and is recommended not significant under Criterion B.
Figure 4. OCNGS Complex. View facing northeast.
March 2025 SEARCH Technical Report Architectural History Survey of Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station, Ocean County, New Jersey Architectural History Results 20 The other historic-age resources surveyed within the OCNGS Complex represent common mid-to-late twentieth-century industrial buildings found at both nuclear plants and industrial locations broadly. Historic aerial photographs indicate construction expanded within the parcel throughout the 1980s and 1990s as necessary. Other facilities were demolished or replaced throughout the OCNGSs history of use. For these reasons, the OCNGS Complexs development lacks a significant concentration of buildings and structures unified historically or aesthetically by plan or physical development (NPS 1997:5). While the OCNGS Complex was the largest boiling water reactor commercial facility ever built at the time of completion, larger facilities were already in progress before OCNGS was online (Asbury Park Press 1968:63). The firm that designed the OCNGS Complex, Burns and Roe, was prominent in the industry and designed numerous nuclear facilities throughout the United States and globally. However, the OCNGS Complex was not a particularly distinctive example of the firms designs. Due to the lengthy construction time of nuclear facilities, Burns and Roe worked on several facilities concurrently, and by the time the OCNGS Complex was completed, the firm was already in the process of building larger and more powerful facilities. For these reasons, the OCNGS Complex is recommended as being not significant under Criterion C for architectural or engineering distinction.
The OCNGS Complex is recommended not significant under Criterion D because it lacks the potential to yield further information of historical importance. SEARCH recommends the OCNGS Complex is not eligible for NRHP inclusion as a historic district.
Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station Reactor/Turbine Building Complex The OCNGS Reactor/Turbine Building Complex is a ca. 1969 industrial building comprised of four interconnected historic-age facilities with primary and auxiliary functions for electrical power generation (Figure 5). Construction on the site began in 1964, and OCNGS began operations on December 23, 1969. The 636-megawatt plant operated a single unit General Electric Type 2 BWR between 1969 and 2018.
SEARCH March 2025 Architectural History Survey of Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station, Ocean County, New Jersey Technical Report 21 Architectural History Results Figure 5. OCNGS Reactor/Turbine Building Complex Detail.
March 2025 SEARCH Technical Report Architectural History Survey of Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station, Ocean County, New Jersey Architectural History Results 22 The reactor houses fuel assemblies, or groups of fuel rods consisting of metal tubes containing fissionable material (Figure 6). It is cooled using water drawn from the OCNGS Canal. The four interconnected historic-age facilities that comprise are depicted in Figure 5 and Figure 8 and are described below. The facilities comprising the OCNGS Reactor/Turbine Building Complex are industrial buildings with no distinct architectural style, are utilitarian in design, and feature minimal exterior ornamentation.
The Turbine Generator building is a ca. 1969 multi-story industrial facility (Figure 8). The facility has a rectangular plan and features a mix of reinforced concrete and steel frame construction. The facility is roughly divided into three sections. The central section is the tallest and features precast concrete along the base of the walls, with the upper levels clad in corrugated metal. This section features a rolling metal garage door on the southeast façade which was accessed by the Barnegat Branch Railroad Spur. On the southwest side of the facility is a low, all-concrete section with utilities, machinery and ductwork on the roof, which is surrounded by a metal handrail. An enclosed entrance with metal steps is located on the northwest façade. An exterior metal staircase on the southwest façade leads up to a concrete block enclosure on the roof. The northeast side of the facility is roughly central to the OCNGS Reactor/Turbine Building Complex abutting the Machine Shop on the southeast end, and the Office and Reactor on the northeast side. This section of the Turbine Generator building has precast concrete walls and features a large, open, steel I-beam frame on top.
The Reactor building is a ca. 1969 multi-story industrial facility attached to the northeast façade of the Turbine Generator and the northwest façade of the Office (Figure 7 and Figure 8). The building is of both reinforced concrete and steel frame construction and has a rectangular plan and a flat roof. The bottom two-thirds of the walls are concrete, and the top third is clad with Figure 6. Labeled diagram of GE BWR-2 reactor used at OCNGS (OCNGS n.d.).
SEARCH March 2025 Architectural History Survey of Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station, Ocean County, New Jersey Technical Report 23 Architectural History Results corrugated metal which projects slightly from the wall beneath it. A large, projecting bay on the northeast façade is clad with corrugated metal and features a single garage door on the northeast side which appears to be the main entrance to the Reactor. Immediately adjacent to the northeast façade is the concrete cooling stack and pipes leading to the Old Rad Waste and New Rad Waste buildings.
OCNGS used a 636MW Type 2 boiling water reactor built by General Electric.
This reactor stands 64 feet tall and is 18 feet across and is housed in a 29-inch-thick biological shield made of concrete and steel. The vessel and shield are contained within a Mark I Containment System (Figure 7), also designed by General Electric. The Mark I Containment System comprises a nine-story tall drywell connected to a 100-foot-wide doughnut-shaped wet well (Asbury Park Press 1979:28).
The Office building is a ca. 1969 three-story facility attached to the Reactor on its southeast façade, and Turbine Generator on its northeast façade (Figure 8). The Office has a rectangular plan, three bays wide and two uneven bays deep, and has a flat, concrete roof. The facility is of reinforced concrete construction, with exposed, squared columns and spandrels on the exterior. The first story is recessed and features fixed, aluminum-framed, full-height window walls. The main entrance is on the northeast façade and features a fully-glazed, aluminum-framed door. The upper stories of the building feature bands of full-height, three-light, aluminum-framed windows with central awnings. The top and bottom lights are obscured.
Figure 7. Top: Rendering showing arrangement of Reactor Building (General Electric, n.d.). Bottom:
Labeled diagram of Mark I Containment System (OCNGS n.d.).
March 2025 SEARCH Technical Report Architectural History Survey of Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station, Ocean County, New Jersey Architectural History Results 24 The Machine Shop is a ca. 1969 one-story, rectangular, industrial facility attached to the Turbine Generator buildings southeast facade (Figure 8). The facility has a concrete slab foundation is primarily structural steel frame construction with corrugated metal siding on the southwest and southeast facades. The northeast façade is a pre-cast concrete wall that extends from the Generator building. The facility has a flat roof that appears to be covered with composite materials. The facility has two single-bay garage ports with rolling, metal doors on either end of the southeast façade. Two flush, metal doors with half-lights are located between the garage doors. A single, metal-framed window is roughly centered between these doors, but appears to be obscured from the inside.
The OCNGS Reactor/Turbine Building Complex consists of four interconnected historic-age facilities: the Turbine Generator, the Reactor, the Office, and the Machine Shop. The facilities are not associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of history, and are recommended not significant under Criterion A. Background research indicates the plant lacks association with any person(s) significant in history, and is recommended not significant under Criterion B. The facilities that comprise the OCNGS Reactor/Turbine Building Complex generally lack architectural or engineering distinction and are recommended not significant under Criterion C. The facilities are recommended not significant under Criterion D because they lack the potential to yield further information of historical importance. SEARCH recommends the OCNGS Reactor/Turbine Building Complex as not eligible for NRHP inclusion.
Figure 8. Turbine Generator building, facing northeast (top left); Reactor building, facing northwest (top right);
Office, facing northwest (bottom left); Machine Shop, facing northeast (bottom right).
SEARCH March 2025 Architectural History Survey of Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station, Ocean County, New Jersey Technical Report 25 Architectural History Results Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station Intake Structure The ca. 1969 OCNGS Intake Structure is located west of the OCNGS Reactor/Turbine Building Complex and spans the OCNGS Canal (Figure 9). The Intake Structure has an irregular shape and features a paved road surface along the top. On the north (upstream) side of the Intake Structure, concrete slab and steel grate platforms supported by concrete piles extend out from the Intake Structure along the banks of the canal. These platforms support several utilitarian sheds housing pumps and machinery, as well as machinery for monitoring and safely discharging wildlife before it enters the intake. The south side of the Intake Structure features a timber embankment.
Concrete channels along the south side of the Intake Structure discharge water from OCNGS back into OCNGS Canal. The structure possesses no style, is utilitarian in design, and features no exterior ornamentation.
The OCNGS Intake Structure is not associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of history. SEARCH recommends the structure is not significant under Criterion A. Background research indicates the resource lacks association with any person(s) significant in history, and is recommended not significant under Criterion B. The resources design is minimal, utilitarian, and generally lacks architectural or engineering distinction and is recommended not significant under Criterion C. The resource is recommended Figure 9. OCNGS Intake Structure. View facing northwest (top left), view facing northeast (top right), view facing north (bottom left), and view facing west (bottom right).
March 2025 SEARCH Technical Report Architectural History Survey of Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station, Ocean County, New Jersey Architectural History Results 26 not significant under Criterion D because it lacks the potential to yield further information of historical importance. SEARCH recommends the resource is not eligible for NRHP inclusion.
Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station Canal The ca. 1969 OCNGS Canal forms a horseshoe around the OCNGS property on the north, west, and south sides (Figure 10). Prior to the construction of
- OCNGS, the location was flanked by Forked River to the north and Oyster Creek to the south. In order to accommodate the facility, these rivers were widened and channelized east of US-9. The 170-foot-wide OCNGS Canal was dug to channel water from the Forked River to the OCNGS Intake Structure and discharge water to Oyster Creek. The canal has mostly uniform width except for a slightly wider section downstream of the OCNGS Intake Structure which accommodates discharge structures from the facility. The banks of the canal feature a variety of materials including asphalt, rocks, boulders and timber retaining walls.
The OCNGS Canal is an ancillary structure not associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of history. SEARCH recommends the structure is not significant under Criterion A. Background research indicates the resource lacks association with any person(s) significant in history and is recommended not significant under Criterion B. The resources design is minimal, utilitarian, and generally lacks architectural or engineering distinction and is recommended not significant under Criterion C. The resource is recommended not significant under Criterion D because it lacks the potential to yield further information of historical importance. SEARCH recommends the resource is not eligible for NRHP inclusion.
Figure 10. OCNGS Canal, view facing south.
SEARCH March 2025 Architectural History Survey of Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station, Ocean County, New Jersey Technical Report 27 Architectural History Results Diesel Generator Building The Diesel Generator Building is a one-story ca.
1969 ancillary building centrally located southwest of the OCNGS Reactor/Turbine Building Complex (Figure 11). The building has an L-shaped plan and sits on a concrete slab foundation. The walls are concrete and the building features a flat roof. The roof is accessed by fixed metal ladders on the northeast and northwest facades and by an exterior, metal staircase on the southwest façade.
Entrances to the building are obscured by metal security doors and are sheltered by concrete projections. These entrances are located on the northeast and southeast facades, with one located on the southeast façade of the ell projection. The building contains diesel-powered generators that provide electricity to the plant during emergency situations. The building is utilitarian in design and features no exterior ornamentation.
The Diesel Generator Building is an ancillary building not associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of history. SEARCH recommends the building is not significant under Criterion A. Background research indicates the resource lacks association with any person(s) significant in history, and is recommended not significant under Criterion B.
The resources design is minimal, utilitarian, generally lacks architectural or engineering distinction and is recommended not significant under Criterion C. The resource is recommended not significant under Criterion D because it lacks the potential to yield further information of historical importance. SEARCH recommends the resource is not eligible for NRHP inclusion.
Old Rad Waste The Old Rad Waste building is a single-story ca. 1969 industrial building located immediately to the northeast of the OCNGS Reactor/Turbine Building Complex (Figure 12). The building has an L-shaped plan and sits on a concrete slab foundation. The walls are concrete, and the building features a flat roof. The roof is accessed by exterior metal staircases and features a rectangular concrete enclosure and two smaller metal enclosures on the southwest side. Individual garage bays with rolling metal doors are located on the northeast and southeast facades. A flush, metal door is located on the southeast façade. No windows are visible on the building. The building houses storage for radioactive waste. The building is utilitarian in design and features no exterior ornamentation.
Figure 11. Diesel Generator Building, view facing northwest.
March 2025 SEARCH Technical Report Architectural History Survey of Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station, Ocean County, New Jersey Architectural History Results 28 The Old Rad Waste building is an ancillary building not associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of history. SEARCH recommends the building is not significant under Criterion A.
Background research indicates the resource lacks association with any person(s) significant in history, and is recommended not significant under Criterion B. The resources design is minimal, utilitarian, generally lacks architectural or engineering distinction and is recommended not significant under Criterion C. The resource is recommended not significant under Criterion D because it lacks the potential to yield further information of historical importance. SEARCH recommends the resource is not eligible for NRHP inclusion.
New Rad Waste The New Rad Waste building is a multi-story industrial building located north of the OCNGS Reactor/Turbine Building Complex, constructed in 1978 (Figure 13). The building has rectangular plan and sits on a concrete slab foundation. The walls are split into two levels, with the lower level being pre-cast concrete and the upper level being a
mix of pre-cast concrete, concrete block, and metal siding.
The building has a flat roof accessed by an exterior metal staircase on the southwest façade. A single garage bay with a rolling metal door is located on the northeast façade. A flush metal door accessed by a metal staircase is located on the northwest façade. A large, elevated metal pipe extends from the cooling stack to the upper level of the southeast façade where it bends up and goes to the roof. No windows are visible on the building.
The building houses storage for radioactive waste. The building is utilitarian in design and features no exterior ornamentation.
Figure 13. New Rad Waste, view facing west.
Figure 12. Old Rad Waste, view facing west.
SEARCH March 2025 Architectural History Survey of Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station, Ocean County, New Jersey Technical Report 29 Architectural History Results The New Rad Waste building is an ancillary building not associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of history. SEARCH recommends the building is not significant under Criterion A. Background research indicates the resource lacks association with any person(s) significant in history, and is recommended not significant under Criterion B. The resources design is minimal, utilitarian, generally lacks architectural or engineering distinction and is recommended not significant under Criterion C. The resource is recommended not significant under Criterion D because it lacks the potential to yield further information of historical importance. SEARCH recommends the resource is not eligible for NRHP inclusion.
Materials Warehouse The Materials Warehouse is a two-story ca.
1978 industrial warehouse located on the northeast corner of the OCNGS complex (Figure 14). The building has a rectangular plan and sits on a concrete slab foundation. The building is a mix of concrete and steel construction, with the walls featuring concrete block on the first story and corrugated metal on the second story. The roof is flat and appears to be covered with composite material. Flat canopies supported by square columns project from the southwest façade with concrete slabs underneath. Rolling metal garage doors and flush, metal pedestrian doors are located under these canopies. The main entrance to the building, an aluminum-framed assembly with a central double door, full-width sidelights and a transom light is located on the southern end of the canopies. The southwest façade of the building to the south of the canopies features tall, individual, metal-framed windows (partially obscured) on the first story and square, aluminum-framed windows on the second story. Several flush, metal doors are located on the southeast façade, as well as a single garage bay with a rolling, metal door on the east end. The building is utilitarian in design and features no exterior ornamentation.
The Materials Warehouse is an ancillary facility not associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of history. SEARCH recommends the resource is not significant under Criterion A. Background research indicates the resource lacks association with any person(s) significant in history, and is recommended not significant under Criterion B.
The resources design is minimal, utilitarian, generally lacks architectural or engineering distinction and is recommended not significant under Criterion C. The resource is recommended not significant under Criterion D because it lacks the potential to yield further information of historical importance. SEARCH recommends the resource is not eligible for NRHP inclusion.
Figure 14. Materials Warehouse, view facing southeast.
March 2025 SEARCH Technical Report Architectural History Survey of Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station, Ocean County, New Jersey Architectural History Results 30 Pump Building and Reservoir During the excavation of the OCNGS Canal in 1969, an auxiliary reservoir was established along Oyster Creek approximately 0.45 miles upstream from the canal (Figure 15). In order to supply OCNGS with water in emergency situations, diesel-powered pumps were positioned on the northern end of the reservoir. By 1972 a utilitarian, metal building was constructed to house the pumps.
This single-story, rectangular building has a shallow-pitched gable roof. Standing seam metal covers the roof and metal siding clads the walls. The foundation is concrete slab. The building has a single entrance on the northeast façade which features a flush metal door. A chain link fence surrounds the perimeter of the building. A timber retaining wall to the southeast of the building separates it from the reservoir. Aside from this section adjacent to the pump building, the reservoir does not have built retaining walls. Oyster Creek feeds into the reservoir on the southeast end and exits over a small dam on the northeast end, adjacent to the pump building.
Both the pump building and the reservoir are utilitarian in design and feature no exterior ornamentation.
The Pump Building and Reservoir are an ancillary building and feature and are not associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of history. SEARCH recommends the resource is not significant under Criterion A. Background research indicates the resource lacks association with any person(s) significant in history, and is recommended not significant under Criterion B. The resources design is minimal, utilitarian, generally lacks architectural or engineering distinction and is recommended not significant under Criterion C.
The resource is recommended not significant under Criterion D because it lacks the potential to yield further information of historical importance. SEARCH recommends the resource is not eligible for NRHP inclusion.
Figure 15. Pump Building and Reservoir, view facing southwest.
SEARCH March 2025 Architectural History Survey of Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station, Ocean County, New Jersey Technical Report 31 Architectural History Results Barnegat Branch Railroad The corridor of the Barnegat Branch Railroad is located adjacent to the eastern boundary of the OCNGS parcel, on the west side of US 9 (Figure 16). The corridor segment adjacent to OCNGS is roughly oriented in a north-south alignment, following a slight curve. In 1981 the rails along this segment were removed, and in 2013 the segment was converted to a path as part of a Rails to Trails project. At the time of survey there is no physical evidence of the railroad corridor within the Survey Area, though two trestle bridges remain (documented separately below). The trail is packed dirt and fine gravel and follows a winding path within the Barnegat Branch Railroad corridor.
The first section of the Barnegat Branch was constructed by the Raritan and Delaware Bay Railroad, which incorporated in 1854. This entity constructed tracks from Port Monmouth to Lakewood and Whiting (Manchester). Additional tracks were completed to Toms River in 1866, and passenger service commenced shortly thereafter. However, this service did not extend further south than Toms River (Hartwick et al. 1968; Ocean County Planning Department 2007; Rutgers University 2024). By 1869, the Raritan and Delaware Bay Railroad had entered bankruptcy and was reorganized as the New Jersey Southern Railroad (Hartwick et al. 1968). In March 1870, the Toms River and Waretown Railroad was incorporated by John Aumack and William Low of Ocean County National Bank and Ralph Gowdy, a political leader in the area. These men hoped to create a loop of tracks to develop the western shore and connect to the existing track. Lacking sufficient funds to operate the line, investors granted operating rights to the New Jersey Southern Railroad in 1870. Construction continued and was completed on May 4, 1872, with five cars arriving at Barnegat Junction near Waretown (Beers 1872; Ocean County Planning Department 2007). Beginning in 1872, two passenger trains and one combined passenger/freight train ran in each direction with stops at Bayville, Cedar Creek and Forked River.
Despite the opening of the railroad, the communities along the railroad failed to grow or industrialize. Freight loads during this early period included shipments of clams, fish, fish fertilizer, oysters, peat moss, charcoal, cranberries, peaches, shingles and salt hay. Incoming freight included packaged goods and building supplies. Additionally, the train provided mail service to the area. In 1873, the railroad earned $778 and within the year was sold to a local operator. The track was reacquired by the New Jersey Southern Railroad in 1874 and remain among its property when the Central Railroad of New Jersey purchased the New Jersey Southern tracks in 1879 (Morgan 2002). Under the new ownership, several improvements were made Figure 16. Barnegat Branch Railroad, view facing north.
March 2025 SEARCH Technical Report Architectural History Survey of Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station, Ocean County, New Jersey Architectural History Results 32 along the line including new turntables and depots. To exert more control over lines leased to local operators, the Central New Jersey Railroad began purchasing the deeds of all leased tracks.
The Barnegat Branch was the last to be acquired in 1893 during foreclosure sale and conveyed to a subsidiary called the Toms River and Barnegat Railroad. This subsidiary operated as a separate entity until 1917 when it was formally merged with its parent company. Following this merger, the tracks were known as the Barnegat Branch (Ocean County Planning Department 2007).
Freight and passenger traffic remained steady along the Barnegat lines following the merger.
With the establishment of canneries and increase in fresh farm production, the railroad introduced refrigerated cars. During the 1920s, cars and trucks slowly began replacing passenger trains and freight hauling. Initially, the Barnegat Branch benefitted from the resulting increase in highway construction which required shipping large amounts of sand, stone and cement. By the 1940s, the New Jersey Pulverizing Company was the largest shipper of material on the Barnegat Branch. Like many other large railroad companies, the Central New Jersey Railroad began experiencing financial difficulties during the 1950s. By 1953, the Central New Jersey Railroad no longer offered passenger services (Morgan 2002; Ocean County Planning Department 2007).
Despite falling profits, in 1964, the Central New Jersey Railroad constructed a railroad spur to the site of a new nuclear facility at Oyster Creek (Asbury Park Press 6 June 1965:28). By April 1972, half of the Barnegat Branch was abandoned. The stretch between Barnegat and Oyster Creek had already been out of service since June 1970 due to poor track conditions. However, with the announcement of additional closures between Pinewald to Barnegat, the New Jersey Central Power and Light Company purchased the 6.2 miles of track from Pinewald to the Oyster Creek nuclear power plant, but never used the track (Ocean County Planning Department 2007).
Central New Jersey Railroad ceased to be an independent corporate entity on April 1, 1976, during ongoing bankruptcy proceedings (Hagley Museum n.d.; Morgan 2002). The tracks south of Toms River continued carrying freight until 1978 under the federally chartered Conrail, who removed the rails in 1981 (Ocean County Planning Department 2007).
The Barnegat Branch Railroad was a fairly minor railroad that did not substantially impact the development of Ocean County. This railroad is not associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of history. SEARCH recommends the resource is not significant under Criterion A. Background research indicates the resource lacks association with any person(s) significant in history, and is recommended not significant under Criterion B.
No physical evidence of the railroad remains within the Survey Area that indicates architectural or engineering distinction. The resource is recommended not significant under Criterion C. The resource is recommended not significant under Criterion D because it lacks the potential to yield further information of historical importance.
Barnegat Branch Railroad Spur The Barnegat Branch Railroad Spur was constructed in 1964 to provide direct access to OCNGS (which had begun construction that year) from the Barnegat Branch Railroad (Figure 17). The original arrangement featured a single track splitting from the main line and running along the
SEARCH March 2025 Architectural History Survey of Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station, Ocean County, New Jersey Technical Report 33 Architectural History Results southeast boundary of the facility before turning and entering the southeast end of the Turbine Generator building (USGS 1970).
By 1977 the tracks had been reconfigured and featured a
second track to the southeast of the first which crossed the OCNGS Canal (USGS 1977). When the rails of the Barnegat Branch Railroad were removed in 1981 the Barnegat Branch Railroad Spur was also dismantled (Ocean County Planning Department 2007, USGS 1981). Currently, only a small section of tracks remains leading to the Turbine Generator building. Additionally, the Barnegat Branch Railroad Spur Bridge Remnant which carried the railroad over the OCNGS Canal is still present (documented separately below).
The track represents a minor spur track built for transporting supplies to and from OCNGS that was largely dismantled in 1981. This railroad spur is not associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of history. SEARCH recommends the resource is not significant under Criterion A. Background research indicates the resource lacks association with any person(s) significant in history, and is recommended not significant under Criterion B.
The small remaining section of rails lacks architectural or engineering distinction and is recommended not significant under Criterion C. The resource is recommended not significant under Criterion D because it lacks the potential to yield further information of historical importance. SEARCH recommends the resource is not eligible for NRHP inclusion.
Barnegat Branch Railroad Spur Bridge Remnant The Barnegat Branch Railroad Spur Bridge Remnant is a newly recorded wood trestle bridge constructed ca. 1977 that carried the Barnegat Branch Railroad Spur over OCNGS Canal (Figure 18). The bridge is located on the southwest corner of the OCNGS Complex and is oriented at a slight northeast-southwest alignment. This trestle bridge remnant spans approximately 100 feet, supported by a total of nine bents. Each bent features four vertical posts in the center and battered or angled posts on the sides. Several bents are joined to a neighboring bent with wood plank cross-bracing. Roughly centered on the bridge remnant is a steel I-beam that projects out to either side of the bridge. The southwest end of the bridge was removed in 1981 when the rails were removed for the Barnegat Branch Railroad Spur, and the northeast end was removed ca.
1985 (USGS 1981, NETR 1984, NETR 1986). The northeast shoreline is covered with gravel and the southwest shore is grown over with moderate vegetation and trees. No evidence of the abutments remains.
Figure 17. Barnegat Branch Railroad Spur, view facing northwest.
March 2025 SEARCH Technical Report Architectural History Survey of Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station, Ocean County, New Jersey Architectural History Results 34 The Barnegat Branch Railroad Spur Bridge Remnant is a common example of a wood trestle bridge, of which many examples exist throughout New Jersey and the United States. The bridge was not included as part of the original configuration of the Barnegat Branch Railroad Spur and was only in service for approximately six years. The bridge is not significant under Criterion A as it lacks association with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of history. The bridge lacks association with persons significant to local, state, or national history is therefore not significant under Criterion B. The bridge is a common example of the trestle bridge type with minimal ornamentation. Therefore, the bridge is not significant under Criterion C because it does not embody the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of construction, represent the work of a master, or possess high artistic values. Finally, the bridge is not significant under Criterion D because it lacks the potential to yield further information of historical importance.
For these reasons, the Barnegat Branch Railroad Spur Bridge Remnant is recommended not eligible for inclusion in the NRHP.
South Branch of the Forked River Trestle (Barnegat Branch Railroad)
The South Branch of the Forked River Trestle is a wood trestle spanning the South Forked River Tributary that was built as part of the rail corridor connecting Toms River and Waretown (Figure 19). The original line was completed in 1872. Wood components are typically replaced every few decades as a matter of practice to avoid deterioration of members. During the construction of OCNGS, the Barnegat Branch Railroad and the newly constructed Barnegat Branch Railroad Spur were to be used to transport the over 650-ton reactor vessel the final stretch of its 6,000-mile journey from Combustion Engineerings facilities in Chattanooga, Tennessee to the OCNGS Complex. Additionally, Oyster Creek and two drainage canals needed to be widened, which also required the reconstruction of bridges over the waterways, including the South Branch of the Forked River Trestle (Dau 1966; Morning Call 14 December 1966; Philadelphia Inquirer 1 December 1966). The new trestle bridge was completed in August 1967 (Asbury Park Press 7 August 1967).
Figure 18. Barnegat Branch Railroad Spur Bridge Remnant, view facing southeast.
SEARCH March 2025 Architectural History Survey of Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station, Ocean County, New Jersey Technical Report 35 Architectural History Results The bridge has 13 spans with six-member timber bents and bent caps. Every other bent features cross-bracing connected to the next bent. The bridge deck is made of wood planks to support pedestrian traffic. The bridge is located adjacent to the S Main Street (Route US 9) roadway and is partially enclosed with metal fencing. The Barnegat Branch Trail (Rails to Trails project) was constructed over the trestle.
The South Branch of the Forked River Trestle received a
Certification of Eligibility from the NJ HPO in 2009 as a resource individually eligible for listing in the NRHP for significance under Criterion C. The bridge was re-evaluated in 2022 and was determined to remain individually eligible for listing in the NRHP (dated 5/31/2022). The bridge has not been substantially altered since the 2022 determination. As such, SEARCH recommends no change to the eligibility status of South Branch of the Forked River Trestle.
Oyster Creek Trestle (Barnegat Branch Railroad)
The Oyster Creek Trestle is a wood trestle spanning Oyster Creek that was built as part of the rail corridor connecting Toms River and Waretown (Figure 20). The original line was completed in 1872. Wood components are typically replaced every few decades as a matter of practice to avoid deterioration of members. During the construction of OCNGS, the Barnegat Branch Railroad and the newly constructed Barnegat Branch Railroad Spur were to be used to transport the over 650-ton reactor vessel the final stretch of its 6,000-mile journey from Combustion Engineerings facilities in Chattanooga, Tennessee to the OCNGS Complex. Additionally, Oyster Creek and two drainage canals needed to be widened, which also required the reconstruction of bridges over the waterways, including the Oyster Creek Trestle (Dau 1966; Morning Call 14 December 1966; Philadelphia Inquirer 1 December 1966). The trestle Figure 19. South Branch of the Forked River Trestle (Barnegat Branch Railroad), view facing southeast.
Figure 20. Oyster Creek Trestle (Barnegat Branch Railroad),
view facing northeast).
March 2025 SEARCH Technical Report Architectural History Survey of Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station, Ocean County, New Jersey Architectural History Results 36 bridge across the South Branch of the Forked River was completed in August 1967, and the Oyster Creek Trestle was likely finished around the same time (Asbury Park Press 7 August 1967).
The bridge has 13 spans with six-member timber bents and bent caps. Every other bent features cross-bracing connected to the next bent. The bridge deck is made of wood planks to support pedestrian traffic. The south abutment has been repaired and bolstered with concrete components. The bridge is located adjacent to the S Main Street (Route US 9) roadway and is partially enclosed with metal fencing. The Barnegat Branch Trail (Rails to Trails project) was constructed over the trestle.
The Oyster Creek Trestle received a Certification of Eligibility from the NJ HPO in 2009 as a resource individually eligible for listing in the NRHP for significance under Criterion C. The bridge was re-evaluated in 2022 and was determined to remain individually eligible for listing in the NRHP (dated 5/31/2022). The bridge has not been substantially altered since the 2022 determination. As such, SEARCH recommends no change to the eligibility status of Oyster Creek Trestle.
SEARCH March 2025 Architectural History Survey of Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station, Ocean County, New Jersey Technical Report 37 Conclusions and Recommendations CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS SEARCH conducted an architectural history survey of the OCNGS in Lacey Township, Ocean County, New Jersey, on November 5, 2024. SEARCH was contracted by ENERCON on behalf of Holtec to fulfill historic property identification required by the NRC in preparation for the termination of the OCNGS operating license. The survey included buildings and structures within the Survey Area that were built prior to 1980.
SEARCH surveyed two previously recorded bridges within the Survey Area: South Branch of the Forked River Trestle and Oyster Creek Trestle. Both bridges were initially determined to be eligible for listing in the NRHP in 2009 and were re-evaluated and determined to remain eligible in 2022. The condition of these two bridges has not changed since the 2022 determination, and as such SEARCH recommends no change to the eligibility status of these two resources. The termination of the OCNGS operating license will have No Effect on South Branch of the Forked River Trestle or the Oyster Creek Trestle. SEARCH identified 12 newly recorded pre-1980 resources within the Survey Area. Additionally, one resource, the OCNGS Complex, consists of four interconnected facilities. SEARCH recommends all 12 newly recorded resources not eligible for NRHP inclusion. No further architectural history work is recommended for the Survey Area.
March 2025 SEARCH Technical Report Architectural History Survey of Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station, Ocean County, New Jersey Conclusions and Recommendations 38 This page intentionally left blank.
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