Route 5 closed in Edgewater and Fort Lee for a month
Rock-scaling operations require closure of highway

(Trenton) - NJDOT officials today announced that a 0.3-mile stretch of Route 5 in Edgewater and Fort Lee, Bergen County, will be fully closed to traffic for approximately one month. The closure is necessary for safety purposes during rock scaling operations. Closing the road to traffic will also allow the work to be accomplished faster.

The closure of Route 5 in both directions is scheduled to be implemented by NJDOT’s contractor, Merco Inc., before 6 a.m. on Tuesday, August 9 in connection with 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.

• Route 5 westbound traffic 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.

• Route 5 eastbound traffic will be detoured to Route 67 north to Palisades Avenue to Main Street (CR 10) eastbound to River Road southbound.

The westbound side of Route 5, near its eastern terminus, is bordered by a steep rock cliff. Recent rock-fall incidents along the cliff have resulted 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 reduce the potential hazards of falling rock.

Work began in early July with all large truck traffic detoured since that time. The project is anticipated to be complete late-summer 2012.

The detour routes were coordinated with both local communities as well as NJ TRANSIT.

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