NJDOT to close express lanes on Route 80 eastbound

(Trenton) - The New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) announced today that Route 80 eastbound express lanes will be temporarily closed to traffic from east of the Garden State Parkway in Saddle Brook Township to west of Route 17 in Lodi Borough. The closure is part of ongoing work to rehabilitate the highway's bridge decks and pavement surfaces in a heavily-traveled eight-mile section from west of Madison Avenue to Polify Road in Bergen and Passaic counties.

Starting on Friday, June 25, after the evening rush hour, NJDOT will close the Route 80 eastbound express lanes and shift eastbound traffic to the local lanes. The closure will remain in effect over the weekend with the express lanes being reopened before Monday morning rush hour traffic. All truck traffic going to the George Washington Bridge should then reenter the express lanes at the end of the closure, using the existing crossover located just east of Route 17.

The temporary closure of the express lanes will allow the project contractor to work round-the-clock to resurface the bridge decks in the express lanes.

In addition to having tow trucks on standby to assist motorists and keep traffic moving, NJDOT will install variable message signs on I-80 and the New Jersey Turnpike to inform motorists of traffic pattern changes during construction. Real time travel and construction information is available online at www.511nj.org

The $15 million project includes resurfacing and repairing I-80 eastbound from milepost 58.2 to milepost 65.4 in the townships of Elmwood Park, Saddle Brook, Lodi and Hackensack City in Bergen County and Paterson City in Passaic County. Construction began in August 2009 and completion is anticipated for December 2010.