Route 139 westbound all lanes reopened this morning ahead of schedule following emergency bridge repairs in Jersey City

Crews able to complete more work than expected over the weekend to restore all lanes

NJDOT’s contractor, IEW Construction Group, was able to complete more work this past weekend than expected and restored both lanes of traffic on Route 139 westbound that have been closed since September when the structure was damaged by a fire. The contractor will be working underneath the structure to finish some minor work and will be demobilizing its equipment through the end of the month. This work will not effect traffic.

A fire on September 29 underneath the ramp for Route 139 westbound near Coles Street in Jersey City caused substantial structural damage to six longitudinal beams and the underside of the bridge deck, which is made up of steel and concrete. NJDOT and contractor crews completed emergency repairs and were able to have four out of five lanes of traffic open by October 2. The left two lanes were closed for repairs and the shoulder has been utilized as a travel lane since that time. NJDOT and contractor crews have been working 24-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week since October to complete the permanent repairs.

The permanent repairs include the complete reconstruction of the portion of the structure damaged by the fire, consisting of replacing nearly all of the beams under three spans of the bridge deck from the left shoulder through the second lane, as well as replacing the bridge deck in that section.

NJDOT, the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, NJ Transit, regional transportation agencies and local officials worked together to mitigate congestion and to minimize the effect on motorists while the permanent repairs were made.

Motorists are encouraged to check NJDOT's traffic information website www.511nj.org for real-time travel information and for NJDOT news follow us on Twitter @NJDOT_info.