I-80 Bridges over Rockaway River replacement project begins in Morris County

Lane closures necessary Saturday night to set up traffic shift

(Trenton) -New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) officials today announced the start of the I-80 Bridges over Rockaway River replacement project in Roxbury, Jefferson, and Rockaway, Morris County.

There are two separate bridges that are both in poor condition, one carrying I-80 eastbound traffic and the other carrying I-80 westbound traffic over the Rockaway River. I-80 has three lanes of traffic in each direction through this area with an average of about 112,000 vehicles traveling over these bridges each day. To minimize the effect to traffic, the project will replace the bridges in stages.

To begin, the project requires overnight lane closures on I-80 eastbound and westbound Saturday, April 27, to set up a long-term traffic shift in both directions in order to establish a center median work zone to construct a temporary bridge.

Starting at 8 p.m. Saturday, April 27 until 8 a.m. Sunday, April 28, NJDOT’s contractor IEW Construction Group Inc., is scheduled to close one lane of I-80 eastbound to install construction barrier and restripe the roadway to establish a long-term traffic shift. A second lane is scheduled to be closed at 10 p.m.

Later Saturday night, one lane of I-80 westbound is scheduled to be closed, and then a second lane will be closed to install construction barrier and restripe the roadway to establish a long-term traffic shift on that side of the highway.

When the lanes are reopened Sunday morning, traffic on both I-80 eastbound and westbound will be shifted to the right utilizing the right shoulder to maintain three travel lanes in each direction during construction to minimize impacts to motorists.

his configuration is expected to be in place through the fall. Construction of both bridges is expected to be completed by the end of 2021. NJDOT will provide advanced notice before any lane closures as the project advances.

The $20.8 million federally-funded project will advance in stages, first replacing the I-80 eastbound bridge, followed by the I-80 westbound bridge. In addition, the existing guiderail will be brought up to current standards. 

Variable Message Signs will 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 and on the NJDOT Facebook page.

Please note, the NJDOT Communications office has a new phone number – 609.963.1975