31st Street ramp to Route 495 westbound to be closed overnight beginning this weekend in Hudson County
Nightly detours and traffic shifts will be required for a few weeks
(Trenton) - New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) officials today announced two Route 495 westbound ramps are scheduled to be closed overnight for a few weeks as part of the Route 495 Bridge over Route 1&9 and Paterson Plank Road rehabilitation project in North Bergen.
The ramp from 31st Street in Union City to Route 495 westbound, and the Route 495 westbound ramp to Route 1&9 northbound will be closed overnight to establish a long term traffic shift of Route 495 westbound and construction zone for preliminary work on the project.
Beginning Saturday, March 3 from 11 p.m. until 5 a.m. the next day, and continuing over several nights for approximately two weeks, NJDOT’s contractor I.E.W. Construction Group Inc., is scheduled to temporarily close the 31st Street ramp to Route 495 westbound, and the Route 495 westbound ramp to Route 1&9 northbound.
Theses closures are necessary to allow for a long term shift of three lanes on Route 495 westbound to the left, closer towards the median, between the 31st Street entrance ramp and the Route 1&9 northbound exit ramp. This will result in slightly more narrow lanes in order to create a work zone for utility, drainage, and ramp widening work on the right side of the highway.
Motorists are advised to slow down through the work zone and will be directed to use the following signed detours.
- All motorists that normally take the 31st Street exit in Union City to Route 495 westbound will be directed to continue north on Kennedy Boulevard to 32nd Street/Bergen Turnpike
- Continue on Bergen Turnpike and turn left onto Union Turnpike, which becomes Paterson Plank Road on the overpass
- From Paterson Plank Road motorists have the following options:
- Turn right onto Route 3 westbound after the Tonnelle Avenue overpass
- Continue straight on Paterson Plank Road, and turn right after the Route 3 overpass onto the Route 3 eastbound access road. Bear left at the fork for Route 495 westbound or stay right for the NJ Turnpike
Route 495 westbound Detour:
(From 11 p.m. until 5 a.m. the next day, starting on Saturday, March 3 and continuing over several nights for approximately two weeks)
- All motorists that normally take Route 495 westbound to Route 1&9 northbound and Paterson Plank Road will be directed to continue on Route 495 westbound and turn right onto the Route 3 westbound
- Stay right on the Route 3 westbound local lanes to the first Paterson Plank Road exit
- Continue east on Paterson Plank Road to the fourth light and then turn left onto the Route 1&9 northbound
The $90.3 million state-funded project to rehabilitate the nine-span viaduct includes repairs and the reconstruction of the bridge deck, replacement and strengthening of deteriorated structural steel, and the repair and painting of the substructure. Construction will be accomplished in stages by first making improvements to local streets in the surrounding areas that will need to handle some of the diverted traffic during bridge construction.
Community Outreach
NJDOT created a project-specific website – www.RestoreNJ495.com – which contains a wealth of information about the Route 495 Bridge rehabilitation, and will be updated with relevant new information as work progresses. The Department is carefully coordinating the Route 495 Bridge rehabilitation project with other regional transportation infrastructure projects to minimize traffic congestion.
The Department has a project hotline telephone number, 201.408.8495, and email, DOTOutreachRT495@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. 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 and for NJDOT news follow us on Twitter @NJDOT_info.
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