NJDOT announces weekend
closures of Route 7/Wittpenn Bridge

Structural repairs to require detours on multiple weekends

(Trenton) – The New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) today announced the upcoming start of full roadway closures associated with an interim bridge repair project on the Route 7/Wittpenn Bridge over the Hackensack River in Jersey City and Kearny, Hudson County.

NJDOT is performing structural repairs to ensure the existing Route 7 Wittpenn Bridge remains in service while a new replacement bridge is being built.

NJDOT will begin a full closure of the bridge to traffic beginning at 6 a.m. Saturday, March 22 until around 8 p.m. Sunday, March 23. The following two weekends, NJDOT also will implement full closures of the Wittpenn Bridge beginning at 10:30 p.m. Friday through about 5:30 a.m. Monday both weekends.

The following detours will be in effect during all full closures of the bridge:

• Route 7 eastbound traffic will take Fish House Road to Pennsylvania Avenue to Central Avenue and then continue to Route 1&9T northbound and return to Route 7.
• Route 7 westbound traffic will take to Route 1&9T southbound to Central Avenue and then continue to Pennsylvania Avenue to Fish House Road and return to Route 7.

The interim repair project will make structural repairs and mechanical adjustments to improve safety and operational performance of the existing Route 7 Wittpenn vertical lift bridge.

In November 2011, NJDOT began construction on the first contract of $480 million project to completely replace the existing structurally deficient Route 7 Wittpenn Bridge with a new, wider vertical lift bridge on a new alignment approximately 200-feet to the north. Construction of the new bridge will be accomplished in four stages under five separate contracts. The initial first two stages of construction for $95 million that will build the river piers, fender system and the east approach spans for the new vertical lift bridge are currently under construction. The new bridge is anticipated to be open to traffic in 2018.

The precise timing of the work is subject to change due to weather or other factors. Motorists are encouraged to check NJDOT's traffic information website www.511nj.org for real-time travel information.