Excavation work starting this week requires daytime blasting near Route 46 in Passaic County

Periodic closures of Rifle Camp Road and Lackawanna Avenue necessary for utility work

Beginning at approximately 1 p.m. today, Wednesday, December 20, and again at approximately 1 p.m. on Thursday, December 21 and Friday, December 22, NJDOT’s contractor, J.F. Creamer & Sanzari, is scheduled to conduct an excavation blast for water and sewer installation work at the intersection of Rifle Camp Road and Lackawanna Avenue in Woodland Park. Traffic on Rifle Camp Road, Lackawanna Avenue, and Notch Road will be stopped for approximately 10 to 15 minutes, while the blasts takes place. Traffic on Route 46 will not be affected.

The excavation blasts are expected to continue intermittently for several weeks, and will only be done between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. Measures are being taken to minimize the noise and impact, and the blasts will be monitored by several utility companies.

The $40.8 million federally-funded Contract A portion of the Route 3, Route 46, Valley Road and Notch/Rifle Camp Road Interchange Improvements project, which started construction in January 2016, includes the construction of a new two-way service road, three signalized intersections, and two single-lane roundabouts parallel to Route 46 westbound to remove local traffic from the state highway. The project is being accomplished with two contracts and is expected to be completed in fall 2022.

Variable message signs are being utilized throughout the project limits to provide advance notification to motorists of all traffic pattern changes associated with the interchange improvements project. Throughout the project, NJDOT will provide information before upcoming road or ramp closures.

The precise timing of the work is subject to change due to weatheror other factors. 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.