NJDOT announces overnight weekend
closures of Route I-280 for Stickel Bridge work

(Trenton) – The New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) today announced the temporary overnight closure of Route 280 between Exit 15 and Exit 16 for mechanical work on the Stickel Bridge, which connects Newark and Harrison over the Passaic River.

NJDOT will close I-280 12 a.m. to 5 a.m. on Friday, October 31 in order to raise the Stickel Bridge and perform mechanical work. The closures will continue during the same hours on Friday nights for six weekends through mid-December. Saturday nights will be used for rain-dates.

The following detour routes will be in place during the closures:

• I-280 westbound traffic will take Exit 16 in Harrison. Motorists will take Frank Rodgers Boulevard to Harrison Avenue to Bridge Street to Broad Street to Orange Street to Nesbit Street to 8th Avenue and take the I-280 westbound on-ramp at Exit 14 in Newark.
• I-280 eastbound traffic will take Exit 15 in Newark to Route 21 southbound. Motorists will take the Lombardy Street jug handle to Route 21 northbound to Bridge Street to Harrison Avenue to the I-280 eastbound on-ramp in Harrison.

The closures are part of NJDOT’s $32 million project to improve the structure and operation of the movable Stickel Bridge. NJDOT replaced the bridge decks and rehabilitated the bridge superstructure to help stabilize the severely deteriorated span, extending its lifespan by 25 years. The project began in June 2006 and is scheduled to be completed in January 2009.

NJDOT’s I-280 Stickel Bridge rehabilitation website, http://www.state.nj.us/transportation/commuter/roads/I280/, lists the specific construction work currently taking place on the I-280 Stickel Bridge.

NJDOT encourages motorists to drive carefully to protect themselves and workers in the construction zone. Variable Message Signs have been placed on the New Jersey Turnpike, Garden State Parkway and I-80 to inform motorists of the roadway closures. Real time traffic information is available at www.511nj.org.