Parkway exit opening soon as work finish up
Closure part of major project to widen bridge
By: Lori Comstock
Newton New Jersey Herald
USA Today Network - New Jersey
..... Exit 156 northbound on the Garden State Parkway, a major thoroughfare connection North Jersey travelers to Route 46 and 20, is expected to reopen in just a few weeks, months after it was closed to provide clearance for an $85 million project reconnecting the "deteriorating bridge over the Passaic River, officials said.
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The exit, which provides a direct route to Route 46 east and Route 20 north, closed the end of February. [2024] It is scheduled to reopen by the week of July 15, [2024] said Tom Feeney, a spokesman for the New Jersey Turnpike Authority. the closure of Exit 156 was required to provide space for the contractor to build a retaining wall along the exit ramp, Feeney said.
..... The exit's closure is part of a major, multi-stage project to widen the Garden State
Parkway bridge, which extends over the Passaic River, Route 46 and River Road. The project got underway is spring 2021 and completion is expected by fall of 2026, said Feeney. It was initially estimated to be finished in fall 2025.
..... Commuters going north may have to instead take $Exit 160 for Fair Lawn/Hackensack to Route 208, but drivers are then hit with a charge as they pas through the parkway toll by Exit 159. If commuters pre-plan, Exit 154 is a detour to Route 46 that leads to Route 20 and does not have a toll.
..... The multi-million-dollar project is underway due to worsening conditions of the bridge, which was constructed in 1955, and later widened in 1963, said David Rue, project manager for engineering firm WSP USA, during a public hearing for the project in September 2020.
..... Project details show that deterioration of the superstructure and deck has occurred, "requiring the [New Jersey Turnpike] Authority to perform priority repairs in recent years."
..... "The existing piers and abutments are in satisfactory condition, but the superstructure is deteriorated and is approaching the end of its useful life," rue said.
..... In addition to extending the life of the bridge the project twill improve geometric deficiencies to improve motorist safety, according to Rue. This includes the improvement of stopping sight distance, widening of shoulder widths, extending vertical clearances over U.S. 46 and River Drive, and extending the lengths of the auxiliary lane, which is the land drivers use onto a ramp by deceleration away from the main roadway and accelerate to the speed of traffic on the main roadway once exiting the ramp.
..... The project is being completed in three stages in an effort to minimize disruption to traffic, said Feeney.
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A three-lane temporary bridge was put in place to carry southbound Garden State Parkway traffic for the duration of the project. The Northbound lane was required to close for several months since a stormwater basin is being constructed within the Exit 156 ramp, requiring workers to construct several retaining walls to minimize slope impacts, according to details of the project.
..... The Lexington Avenue ramp to Route 46 westbound has been closed intermittently for workers to access construction areas.
..... The prior bridge carried three lanes of traffic northbound and southbound and stretched 99 feet and 2 inches across. The northbound and southbound lanes were varying sizes, ranging form an 11-foot northbound traffic lane to a 13-foot southbound lane. The new structure will still provide three lanes of traffic on either side, with 12-foot traffic lanes., 12-foot right shoulders and 5-foot left shoulders in each direction, according to construction details. The previous shoulder on the southbound land measured just over 5 1/2 feet wide, and on the northbound side measure 7 feet.