Bridge replacement plan includes wider Route 4
By: Marsha A. Stoltz
NorthJersey.com
USA Today Network - New Jersey
TEANECK - Construction of the $74 million route 4 replacement bridge over Palisade Avenue, Windsor Road and the CSX Railroad tracks is not expected to start until next fall, [2026] but the state was in the township recently to update officials on tis progress.
.....
Representatives of the Transpiration Department, at the October 21 [2025] Township council meeting, reviewed upcoming steps in the process to replace the 91-year-old bridge beginning in fall 2026 with a two-year utility relocation, followed by a four-year, three-stage bridge replacement project expected to last form fall 2028 to 2032.
..... Although the stated purpose of the project is bridge replacement, Deputy Project Manager Jaclyn Lawson said a side benefit of the work is a widening of Route 4
to three lanes of traffic in both directions along what is now a two-lane bottleneck.
..... The eastbound Belle Avenue on-off ramp will be enhanced with acceleration and deceleration lanes to further facilitate vehicle flow through the traffic-plagued narrows.
..... The widening of Route 4 to accommodate three lanes in each direction will require the taking of an estimated one-third acre from parks along route 4, Lawson said a 6-acre property off Shepard Avenue between Oak Street and Buffet Terrace is being offered to substitute for the lost green space.
..... Acknowledging commuter concerns about traffic flow during construction along the east-west highway linking the George Washington Bridge and Manhattan, Lawson said plans include the following.
* Route 4 traffic not be detoured onto local streets.
* "Short duration" detours may be necessary on Belle Avenue, Palisade Avenue and Windsor Road during utility relocations and roadway construction.
* No night work is planned along residential roads.
* Pedestrian traffic may be diverted to Sagamore Avenue during later stages of road construction.
* Two lanes of traffic will be maintained i each direction during construction.
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the bridge is one of two on route 4 scheduled for replacement. The other is the Hackensack River bridge, 2.5 miles to the west between The Shops at Riverside in Hackensack and Fairleigh Dickinson University in Teaneck. A September 10 [09/10/2025] state Transpiration Department pre-bid meeting presentation said that project is expected to cost $150 to $200 million and will take four to five years to complete. That part of the project is slated to start in January 2026.
..... Links to the Palisade avenue bridge, video presentation and slides show are post on the township website, teanecknj.gov .