NJDOT announces efforts to protect Route 5
from falling rocks

(Trenton) - The New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) today announced the start of a project to prevent rocks and other debris from falling on a 0.3 mile stretch of Route 5 in Edgewater and Fort Lee, Bergen County.

Starting around 11 p.m. tonight, NJDOT’s contractor, Merco Inc., will detour all truck traffic on Route 5 westbound as construction begins on a $3.8 million project to remove and stabilize loose rock along Route 5 westbound between the Fort Lee Pump Station and Undercliff Avenue. The existing roadside rock outcrops consist of loose rock that has the potential to fall onto the Route 5 mainline roadway.

Beginning on Monday, July 11, Route 5 westbound will be closed and detoured to all traffic daily, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., for construction activities. Route 5 eastbound will remain open throughout the early stages of construction.

• Truck and off-peak traffic headed for Route 5 westbound will be detoured to CR 505 (River Road) north to Bruce Reynolds Boulevard west in Fort Lee to Martha Washington Way south to Route 67 (Palisades Avenue) south to the convergence with Route 5.

Further on into construction, a 28-day complete closure of this portion of Route 5 is planned during rock scaling operations, for safety reasons. NJDOT will provide advance notification for this long-term closure.

The westbound side of Route 5, near its eastern terminus, is bordered by a steep rock cliff. Recent rock fall incidents have occurred along the cliff resulting in complete closures of the roadway. Stabilization measures, including scaling of loose rock, installation of shotcrete mortar, wire netting, and rock dowels and the removal of vegetation, will help stabilize the rock slope and lessen the potential hazards of falling rock.

Public Information Centers were held in January 2010 and 2011 to keep the local communities involved and informed of the project and the resulting impacts to traffic.

Variable Message Signs will be used to inform motorists of traffic pattern changes during construction. NJDOT provides emergency roadway information, construction schedule updates and real time traffic information and images at www.511nj.org