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P.O. Box 600
Trenton, NJ
Contact: Joe Dee or Tim Greeley
609-530-4280
RELEASE: January 10, 2013
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Pulaski Skyway rehabilitation project to close northbound travel lanes commencing in 2014
NJDOT plans survey to obtain input from motorists
to help mitigate anticipated traffic impacts
(Newark) - The New Jersey Department of Transportation today announced construction details associated with the
$1 billion project to rehabilitate the Pulaski Skyway, an 80-year-old elevated highway that carries 67,000 motor vehicles per
day between Newark and Jersey City and serves as an express link for cars and buses to and from the Holland Tunnel.
NJDOT Commissioner James Simpson and members of the project team met with local officials and media in Newark to discuss the
project, including significant traffic impacts starting in 2014 associated with replacing the deck of the 3.5-mile long
structure that carries Route 1&9 traffic.
After considering a range of options, NJDOT is advancing a plan that will require a complete diversion of northbound motorists
from the skyway for approximately two years while the existing deck is replaced. Two southbound travel lanes will be
maintained during this phase of the rehabilitation project.
"We are announcing these construction plans a full year before the serious impacts will be felt because we welcome and value
input from commuters, emergency service providers, local officials, residents and business owners," said Commissioner Simpson.
"The comments and suggestions we receive will help us focus on travel routes, travel modes and other options that will
best serve the public and help mitigate the anticipated significant traffic impacts associated with this essential and
necessary work."
The Department announced that it is conducting a survey to obtain input from commuters and other skyway users about alternative
routes and travel modes they will consider during the deck replacement period. Motorists are being urged to complete the online
survey over the next three weeks. NJDOT has planned a variety of meetings to remain engaged with affected communities and
stakeholders in the coming months.
Diverting northbound vehicles from the skyway during the deck replacement phase of the rehabilitation project cuts four years of
construction time and more than $210 million in costs as compared to an alternative that would restrict deck replacement work to
nights and weekends only, when many of the other regional construction projects will be using night and weekend closures.
The skyway provides four travel lanes for motor vehicles, two in each direction separated by a center barrier.
The closure will affect about 34,000 northbound vehicles daily, including about 10,500 vehicles during the 6-9 a.m. peak
period. Sixty-two percent of the northbound skyway traffic is destined for the New Jersey waterfront or New York City. The
turnpike's Newark Bay-Hudson County Extension (I-78), Route 1&9 T, the Turnpike Eastern Spur and Route 7 are expected
to absorb most of the detoured traffic volume.
Efforts to accommodate diverted traffic include:
- NJDOT announced that the New Jersey Turnpike Authority will convert a shoulder along the Turnpike's Newark
Bay-Hudson County Extension (I-78) into an eastbound travel lane.
- NJDOT will be optimizing northbound traffic flow on 1&9 T.
- NJDOT will be working with NJ TRANSIT on the feasibility of bolstering public transportation service during this
period.
- Car-pooling and van-pooling will be encouraged.
- The Department also will be reaching out to employers to determine if there is any flexibility in workday
start times.
In addition to replacing the skyway deck, future phases of the project will rehabilitate the steel superstructure and the
substructure; will rehabilitate ramp structures; will strengthen the structure against seismic events; will improve drainage and
lighting; and will repaint the structure.
The project will transform the skyway from its current poor condition into one that is in a state of good repair. The
improvements will extend the life of the skyway by 75 years.
The Department and its deck project consultant, Parsons Brinckerhofff, are working closely with the North Jersey Transportation
Planning Authority, which oversees the expenditure of federal transportation dollars in northern New Jersey and parts of central
New Jersey. The skyway project is being funded by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, but the NJTPA's role in
funding numerous other regional projects makes it a key stakeholder.
The Department is carefully coordinating the Pulaski Skyway project with other regional transportation infrastructure projects
to minimize traffic congestion. For instance, the Department will not close the skyway's northbound travel lanes until the
conclusion of all events connected to the February, 2014 National Football League Super Bowl, which will be held at MetLife
Stadium in East Rutherford. Similarly, the deck replacement work is being timed to be completed prior to the start of work to
reconnect Route 7 to the new Wittpenn Bridge.
NJDOT plans to coordinate with the three northeastern Transportation Management Associations to help keep the public informed as
the project progresses through 10 separate construction contracts into the year 2020. Such organizations also serve as valuable
conduits for information flowing from stakeholders to NJDOT.
The survey is available online now www.pulaskiskyway.com and on the NJDOT project website.
The site contains a wealth of information about the skyway and the project, and will be updated with relevant new information as
work progresses. The survey will also be available at the NJTPA and the three TMA websites.
Project details:
- The project will be carried out through 10 contracts.
- Contract 1, to remove concrete encasements from structural steel to assess condition and make any needed repairs,
began in 2012.
- Contract 2, anticipated to begin later this year, involves deck replacements and other work on the Conrail and
Hoboken viaducts. This work will result in traffic impacts primarily in Jersey City. Work under this contract is
anticipated to be completed by early 2016.
- Contracts 3 and 4 involve the skyway deck replacement and the closure of northbound lanes. Work on Contract 3 will
begin in late 2013, but northbound lanes will not be closed until early 2014.
- Contract 5 involves the full rehabilitation of the Kearney, Broadway and Newark ramps.
- Contracts 6 and 7 involve steel repairs.
- Contracts 8 and 9 involve seismic retrofits substructure repairs.
- Contract 10 involves painting the steel structure, with completion anticipated in 2020.
Pulaski Skyway details:
- The Pulaski Skyway was opened to traffic on November 24, 1932. It was built at a cost of $20 million. NJDOT estimates that it would cost approximately $3.2 billion to build today.
- It extends eastward from Raymond Boulevard in Newark, crosses a portion of Kearny and ends in Jersey City, where
it connects with Route 139.
- The steel truss bridge is 18,450 feet long and is composed of 118 spans, including two 550-foot-long spans over
the Hackensack and Passaic Rivers. It rises 135 feet into the air.
- The skyway features four 11-foot-wide travel lanes and no shoulders. There are two-foot-wide walkways on both
outside edges of the deck.
- Trucks were banned from the skyway in 1934 to prevent crashes, a prohibition that remains in place. A median barrier
to prevent crossover accidents was added in 1956.
- NJDOT has spent nearly $90 million over the past seven years on interim repairs to keep the skyway functioning.
- The skyway is listed on the New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places.
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