Palisade Avenue Bridge reconstruction begins
this weekend as Pulaski Contract 2 advances
Bridge to be closed in stages
to minimize
affect to residents in Jersey City
(Trenton) - New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) officials today announced the start of the reconstruction of the Palisade Avenue Bridge over Route 139 in Jersey City as the Pulaski Skyway Contract 2 advances. To minimize the effect on residents and businesses, the work will be done in stages beginning with an overnight full closure this weekend.
The Palisade Avenue Bridge is the second of five bridges over Route 139 that are being reconstructed as part of the Pulaski Skyway Contract 2. The Oakland Avenue Bridge was the first bridge to be reconstructed, and it reopened to traffic on April 8.
Beginning at 11 p.m. Friday, April 22 until 9 a.m. Saturday, April 23, NJDOT’s contractor, Schiavone Construction, will close the Palisade Avenue Bridge for the placement of construction barrier and the start of demolition work. The sidewalk on the west side of the bridge (southbound lanes) will remain closed for the duration of the bridge reconstruction. Pedestrians may continue to use the sidewalk on the east side (northbound lanes) when the bridge is open.
Another full overnight closure is scheduled for next weekend, Friday, April 29 until Saturday, April 30 to continue demolition work on the west side of the bridge. However, on Saturday, the southbound lane will then remain closed for the duration of the reconstruction, leaving only the northbound lane open. The sidewalk on the east side of the bridge will also remain open. The entire bridge will be closed, including the sidewalks, once Dickinson High School gets out in June for the summer.
The following detours will be in place during the overnight closures:
- Motorists traveling southbound on Palisade Avenue will be directed west onto Beacon Avenue to Baldwin Avenue southbound to Newark Avenue eastbound.
- Motorists trying to access Palisade Avenue from Newark Avenue will be directed to Baldwin Avenue northbound to Beacon Avenue eastbound to Palisade Avenue.
- Local traffic destined for Washburn Street from Newark Avenue will be allowed.
The following detour will be in place during the extended southbound closure:
- Motorists traveling southbound on Palisade Avenue will be directed west onto Beacon Avenue to Baldwin Avenue southbound to Newark Avenue eastbound.
During the two Friday overnight closures, Route 139 lower level will also be closed in both directions with traffic shifted to Route 139 upper level. Beginning at 11 p.m. Friday, the lower level of Route 139 will be closed in both directions until 2 p.m. Saturday, for the demolition of the west side of the Palisades Avenue Bridge. The upper level of Route 139 will be open in both directions during the full lower level closure. The westbound lower lever of Route 139 will then have only one lane open until 7 p.m. Saturday.
The following detours will be in place for Route 139 Lower Level:
- Traffic heading toward Newark and points south and west are encouraged to use the New Jersey Turnpike Extension.
- Westbound Cars and Trucks:
Traffic will be diverted to the upper level of Route 139 westbound to JFK Boulevard, where it will be directed to turn left and then to the first right onto the ramp leading to Tonnele Circle. From there cars can access the Pulaski Skyway southbound and Route 1&9 Truck Northbound. All other traffic heading to Route 1&9 Truck or Route 7 will take Route 1&9 northbound to the Country Road jughandle and turn left onto Manhattan Avenue eastbound. At the next light, traffic will turn right onto Route 1&9 southbound to the ramp for Route 1&9 Truck and Route 7.
Traffic will be diverted from Tonnele Circle to Tonnele Avenue southbound, where it will be directed to turn left onto St. Paul’s Avenue and then left onto JFK Boulevard to Route 139 upper level eastbound.
Trucks will be directed south on Route 1&9 Truck to the Virginia Ave jughandle to use Communipaw Avenue eastbound where they will be directed to turn left onto JFK Boulevard to Route 139 upper level eastbound.
This work is part of the $104 million Pulaski Contract 2, which will repair and improve the upper and lower levels of Route 139. Route 139 links the eastern end of the Pulaski Skyway to the Jersey City waterfront and the Holland Tunnel. During this contract, the deck on Route 139 upper level eastbound will be replaced, along with five cross street bridges from Palisade Avenue to Kennedy Boulevard.
Contract 2 is part of the $1 billion Pulaski Skyway rehabilitation project, which is being advanced through 10 separate construction contracts into the year 2020. The massive improvement project will extend the life of the Skyway by 75 years.
NJDOT created a project-specific website - www.pulaskiskyway.com - which contains a wealth of information about the Skyway and the project, and will be updated with relevant new information as work progresses. The Department is carefully coordinating the Pulaski Skyway project with other regional transportation infrastructure projects to minimize traffic congestion.
The Department has a project hotline telephone number, 973-776-7400, and email, Pulaski.Skyway@dot.nj.gov. Anyone who has questions, concerns, or suggestions is encouraged to contact the Project Outreach Team as work progresses.
NJDOT will be using VMS to provide advance notification to motorists of traffic pattern changes associated with the work. Follow us on Twitter @Skywayrehab and visit www.511nj.org for travel advisories. |
