Palisade Avenue Bridge closed this weekend
in Jersey City as Pulaski Contract 2 advances

Southbound lane to remain closed
until the fall as bridge reconstruction advances

(Trenton) - New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) officials today announced a full closure of the Palisade Avenue Bridge over Route 139 in Jersey City tonight, and that the southbound lane will remain closed until the fall as the Pulaski Skyway Contract 2 advances.

Beginning at 9 p.m. Friday, April 29 until 9 a.m. Saturday, April 30, NJDOT’s contractor, Schiavone Construction, will close the Palisade Avenue Bridge for the continued demolition of the west side of the bridge. Local police will be on site to assist with the traffic detour.

The southbound lane will remain closed with a detour for the duration of the bridge reconstruction, leaving only the northbound lane open. Pedestrians may continue to use the sidewalk on the east side (northbound lanes) when the bridge is open. The entire bridge will be closed, including the sidewalks, once Dickinson High School gets out in June for the summer.

Full overnight closures of the bridge are scheduled for next week, Monday, May 2 through Wednesday, May 4 from 8:30 p.m. until 5 a.m. the next day to continue demolition work on the west side of the bridge.

The following detours will be in place during the overnight full 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 Hudson Gardens and 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 Friday overnight closure, 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 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.

• Eastbound Cars:

  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.

• Eastbound Trucks:

  Trucks will be directed south on Route 1&9 Truck to the Virginia Avenue 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 Variable Message Signs 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.