NJDOT announces Route 22
viaduct replacement in Hillside

(Trenton) - The New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) today announced the start of construction on a $21.5 million viaduct replacement project on Route 22 in Hillside Township, Union County. The existing, structurally deficient Route 22 viaduct spans Liberty Avenue, Conrail train tracks and an access road to ShopRite.

“The replacement of this dated, structurally deficient viaduct on Route 22 in Hillside is as an excellent example of the department’s focus on investments that improve safety for motorists," said Commissioner Jim Simpson.

On Friday night, June 11, and continuing through the weekend, NJDOT will enact temporary lane closures on both Route 22 and Liberty Avenue in order to establish the initial work zone/traffic pattern. Route 22 will be shifted to the right in both directions as the work zone is established in the center portion of the bridge. NJDOT will maintain two lanes in each direction on Route 22 during construction. Liberty Avenue will be shifted to the east side of the roadway, with one lane maintained in each direction. This stage of construction is anticipated to last one month until mid-July. At that time, all Route 22 traffic will be shifted to the north side of the bridge, still maintaining two lanes in each direction, to allow for the construction of the southern portion of the new bridge.

NJDOT will be replacing the viaduct with two new separate structures: a single span bridge over the ShopRite access road and a multiple span bridge over Liberty Avenue and Conrail. The new viaduct will be placed on a new alignment, 23-feet to the south of the existing structure. Shifting the roadway alignment to the south will allow NJDOT to maintain traffic on Route 22 during construction and help minimize the overall construction duration.

As part of the project, NJDOT will construct a 12 foot high noise barrier along the length of the township park along Route 22 westbound. The project also will improve existing substandard roadway features and upgrade the drainage system within the project limits.

The contract was awarded to Union Paving & Construction Co. Inc. for $21,569,896.55 on March 30.

The project is funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Construction completion is scheduled for November 2012.

NJDOT provides emergency roadway information, construction schedule updates and real time traffic information and images at www.511nj.org