Route 495 lane closures to begin tonight as rehabilitation of the Bridge over Route 1&9/Paterson Plank Road begins

Route 495 lane closures to begin tonight as rehabilitation of the Bridge over Route 1&9/Paterson Plank Road begins

Expect severe congestion and delays for next two-and-a-half years

(Trenton) - New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) Commissioner Diane Gutierrez-Scaccetti today reminded motorists who take Route 495 to the Lincoln Tunnel to adjust their travel plans to avoid severe traffic congestion expected for the next two-and-a-half years, as necessary lane closures begin tonight to rehabilitate the Route 495 Bridge over Route 1&9 and Paterson Plank Road in North Bergen.

Route 495 lane closures begin tonight
Beginning tonight, Friday, August 17, at 9 p.m., one lane of Route 495 in each direction will be closed, limiting the roadway capacity and causing severe congestion. Aspart of the project, one lane from Route 3 eastbound to Route 495 will be closed for the duration of the project. Both lanes from the New Jersey Turnpike to Route 495 eastbound will be maintained.
The exclusive bus lane (XBL) will remain operational during construction. This construction is expected to last for about two and a half years while the entire bridge deck, parapets, light fixtures, guiderail, and drainage are replaced.

Consider alternate routes or public transportation
During construction, there is expected to be heavy congestion and delays, particularly in the eastbound direction coming from Route 3. NJDOT has been working closely with our partner agencies, such as NJ TRANSIT and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, as well as with local officials, law enforcement, businesses, and commuters to help mitigate the congestion. NJDOT examined a variety of alternatives and are suggesting commuters:

Switching to public transportation – Ferries or PATH trains

Join a carpool or vanpool

Adjust travel times around peak morning and evening travel periods

Telecommute or work at other sites that your employer may have available

Use the George Washington Bridge or the Holland Tunnel if that is an option

Mass transit options

NJ TRANSIT Park & Ride – as part of this project 136 additional parking spaces were added to the North Bergen Park & Ride Lot last year, and there is a Park & Ride lot at the Vince Lombardi rest area on the New Jersey Turnpike.

Ferry Service – There is capacity on the ferries and there are several ferry terminals located near the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail in Union City, Weehawken, Hoboken, and Jersey City. For commuters coming from Monmouth County, there is ferry service with capacity from Atlantic Highlands, Belford, and Highlands.

Hudson-Bergen Light Rail- There is capacity at several Hudson-Bergen Light Rail Park & Ride lots in Jersey City, Bayonne and North Bergen. The Hudson-Bergen Light Rail serves the office complexes in Weehawken, Hoboken and the Jersey City waterfront. The Hudson-Bergen Light Rail can also be accessed by several NJ Transit Train lines at the Hoboken Terminal.

PATH Trains - Use the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail to take the PATH from Hoboken or Jersey City.

The $90.3 million state-funded project began in September 2017 with local street improvements. The work in the first phase, which was necessary before the lane closures could be implemented, has been taking place under the bridge and along the Paterson Plank Road – Union Turnpike corridor.

The project to rehabilitate the nine-span viaduct includes repairs and 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.

Follow the project on Twitter @RestoreNJ495 and get real-time information on traffic conditions at www.511nj.org, where a widget will enable you to cut through all the other traffic information and focus in on the Route 495 area. For NJDOT news follow us on Twitter @NJDOT_info and our Facebook page.