In a region that’s already one of the most crowded in the world and relying on dated and often neglected infrastructure, the 80-year-old NJ-495 viaduct connecting the New Jersey Turnpike to the Lincoln Tunnel’s three tubes is about to become even more reliably backed up with standstill traffic.
An estimated two-and-a-half-year rehabilitation project to shore up the bridge and replace the roadway surface will close one lane in each direction, 24 hours per day for about two years. The New Jersey Department of Transportation is overseeing the $90 million undertaking, which it says will extend the life of the bridge by 75 years.
Motorists should expect “severe congestion,” DOT spokesman Steve Schapiro said. Schapiro didn’t provide a date for when the closures would begin that was more specific than “mid-summer.”
“Oh, gosh. I may need to find another way to get to work,” said Jaymin Patel, a project manager for an ad tech company who takes the bus from central New Jersey each day.
The increased gridlock could force truckers to seek alternate ways into the city.The Holland Tunnel, to the south, bars large trucks, and the George Washington Bridge, to the north, is the second-worst truck bottleneck in the nation, according to a study of truck GPS data by the American Transportation Research Institute.
“We’ll try to do off-hour deliveries as much as possible,” said Gail Toth, executive director of the New Jersey Motor Truck Association, an industry advocacy group. “That depends on the type of industries, because not all are open late at night. The ones that can’t, you just try to find the best route possible.”
Ramps from NJ-495 onto US-1-9, a truck-heavy artery running north-south, will be closed. Southbound motorists will be detoured nearly two miles out of their way and through two cloverleaf turns before heading back under NJ-495.
The towns bordering 495 already get spillover traffic, mostly outbound, when the road is backed up. Officials have been meeting in recent months to hammer out plans for the long slog ahead.
The DOT is urging daily commuters to take public transportation or avoid peak periods, but not everyone has good and practical access to mass transit. Michael Caso, a carpentry business owner who moved five years ago to Long Valley, N.J., has made mass transit work for him 40 miles west of the city to which he commutes.
Caso initially tried driving into the city but found the experience “horrific.” Now, he parks his car in a lot under the NJ-495 viaduct at the North Bergen park and ride and takes a bus.
“I work off-peak hours, so my commute is a little different,” Caso said. “The 5:30, 6 a.m. buses are all the tradesmen. At that time, it’s about 13 to 15 minutes into the city. I have been doing it for five years, and I love it,” he said.
For motorists who want to really get creative, and get some fresh air and exercise while they’re at it, they could try using manpower to get across the Hudson River as one man did last Thursday. Ferry commuters saw Scott Holt paddleboarding across the Hudson River during their morning commutes. He told News 4 he was running late for a meeting so he decided to hop on his paddleboard from Jersey City. The journey took 30 minutes, but before motorists decide to trade in the agonizing slow crawl down the helix to the Lincoln Tunnel for a voyage across the mighty Hudson River, they should be advised that this is not a good idea. A confused cop and an angry ferry captain met the paddleboarding commuter on the shores of Manhattan island.
By: Robin Waters