NJDOT announces traffic management plan
to help cope with potential congestion
from New York City bridge project
(Trenton) - New Jersey transportation officials today announced that plans are in place to help mitigate potential traffic congestion in connection with an ongoing bridge reconstruction project in New York City.
The New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) is scheduled to implement a new stage of construction on the Alexander Hamilton Bridge (AHB) in Manhattan this weekend, which is expected to affect eastbound motorists at the George Washington Bridge (GWB) in Fort Lee, New Jersey.
During this new stage of construction, expected to finish in October, eastbound motorists that have crossed the GWB proceeding towards the AHB will be funneled from two travel-lanes to one. Significant delays are expected, especially during peak travel periods, in the vicinity of the NY bridge project, on GWB and New Jersey roadways that carry traffic toward the bridge.
NJDOT has been planning for this upcoming stage of the Alexander Hamilton Bridge project and coordinating with NYSDOT, NYCDOT, PANYNJ, NJ TRANSIT, TRANSCOM and other stakeholders. Regional coordination has been, and will continue to be, an integral part of this construction project.
NJDOT will be utilizing 511 alerts and links to the project website on the www.511nj.org website as well as concentrated travel time monitoring of the entire area especially during peak travel periods.
Based on that monitoring, the Department will utilize Dynamic Message Signs to provide eastbound motorists with diversion suggestions when GWB delays hit 45 minutes or longer.
NJ TRANSIT bus customers who travel across the GWB will be impacted due to a significant reduction in vehicular traffic capacity along the eastbound Cross Bronx Expressway between Manhattan and the Bronx. Many of NJ TRANSIT’s bus routes traveling at the inbound GWB and points in and around Fort Lee, New Jersey will operate with significant delays as buses will experience increased traffic congestion, especially near the immediate construction zone.
NJDOT’s traffic information website www.511nj.org and telephone service 511 will feature updates on travel conditions around the metropolitan area. Motorists are encouraged to use these valuable tools to get real-time travel information before heading toward New York City.
According to NYSDOT, the Alexander Hamilton Bridge rehabilitation project is the largest single-contract construction project in the history of the New York State Department of Transportation. Construction began on the structure, which carries I-95 over the Harlem River connecting Manhattan to the Bronx, in the spring of 2009 and is scheduled to continue until the end of 2013.
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