Route 495 eastbound traffic to be shifted to new stage on Friday night, June 28 as bridge deck replacement advances

Route 3 eastbound traffic will be a single-lane cattle chute through the work zone

(Trenton) -New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) officials today announced the right two lanes of Route 495 eastbound will be shifted onto the newly completed outside lanes on Friday night, June 28 as the bridge deck replacement project moves into a new stage in North Bergen.

In order to establish the traffic shift on Route 495, overnight lane closures are necessary on Route 3 eastbound express lanes and the ramp from the New Jersey Turnpike to Route 495 eastbound. Currently there are three lanes open in each direction on the Route 495 Bridge. While the traffic shift is being implemented on Friday night, June 28, up to two eastbound lanes will be closed. At least one lane will be maintained overnight. Route 495 westbound will not be affected.

Motorists should expect delays and consider alternate routes this weekend.
Beginning at 9 p.m. Friday, June 28 until 7 a.m. Saturday, June 29, NJDOT’s contractor, IEW Corp, is scheduled to close up to two lanes of Route 495 eastbound to restripe the roadway and install concrete barriers to implement a traffic shift.
In order to shift traffic, the Route 3 eastbound express lanes will be closed just past the Paterson Plank Road overpass with traffic directed to the Route 3 eastbound service road toward Route 1&9/Jersey City to Route 495 eastbound.
In addition, the ramp from the New Jersey Turnpike to Route 495, which is normally two lanes, will be reduced to one lane. One lane will be maintained overnight.

Stage 5 Traffic Shift
Once the traffic shift is in place on Saturday morning to begin Stage 5, there will be a center work zone to reconstruct the left two eastbound lanes, and the newly reconstructed right two lanes will be open where traffic comes from the New Jersey Turnpike and Route 3 Local. This stage is expected to be completed in the fall 2019.
Traffic coming from Route 3 eastbound express will be in a single-lane cattle chute and will not have access to the 30th Street exit to Kennedy Boulevard and Columbia Avenue ramp to Paterson Plank Road.
Route 3 eastbound to Kennedy Boulevard and Columbia Avenue Ramp to Paterson Plank Road

• Motorists in the left lanes of Route 3 eastbound (Express) that wish to exit onto Kennedy Boulevard/Paterson Plank Road must keep right and follow Route 3 eastbound toward Route 1&9/ Jersey City to the Route 495 East Exit.

• Trucks are not permitted in the left lanes of Route 3 eastbound (Express) onto Route 495 and must also use the right lanes of Route 3 toward the Route 1&9 to the ramp to Route 495.

Project Overview
The $90.3 million state-funded project began in September 2017. 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.