NJDOT
breaks ground on
Route 139 construction project
$225
million project will rehabilitate the 12 th Street and 14 th Street
viaducts leading to the Holland Tunnel
(Jersey
City) Commissioner Jack Lettiere today announced the start of
construction on the Department of Transportation (NJDOT)'s rehabilitation
of Route 139, New Jersey's approach to the Holland Tunnel. The
federally-funded, $225 million project will rehabilitate and reconstruct
the existing, structurally deficient 12 th Street and 14 th Street
bridges in Jersey City. The 12th Street Viaduct is an elevated
eastbound roadway; the 14th Street Viaduct is an elevated westbound
roadway.
"The
rehabilitation of these essential viaducts will greatly improve
safety and demonstrate NJDOT's Fix-It-First philosophy toward
our aging infrastructure," said Lettiere. "NJDOT
is committed to reducing this project's traffic impact and providing
motorists a smooth ride during construction."
Age,
increased traffic volume and excessive use have severely deteriorated
the 12 th and 14 th Street viaducts, which require immediate and
extensive rehabilitation. The two structures are a high-volume
traffic approach to the Holland Tunnel, averaging over 100,000
vehicles a day. The 12 th Street viaduct is over 80 years
old, and the 14 th Street structure is more than 50 years old.
NJDOT attempted to repair the viaducts through nearly $700,000
in emergency projects, but deterioration was irreversible.
The
NJDOT Route 139 Approach to the Holland Tunnel project will provide
a permanent solution by re-decking the 1.5-mile viaducts, rehabilitating
superstructures and substructures, and making other operational
improvements to the structurally deficient viaducts. The super-
and substructures will be reinforced with steel. The bridge foundations
also will be rehabilitated.
NJDOT
awarded the project to contractor D'Annunzio and Sons of Clark
on May 13, 2005. The contractor's first
step will be to create a shoulder structure on the 14 th Street
Viaduct. This structure will provide an additional lane of roadway
for use while the remainder of both structures is under construction.
During this stage, one lane of the upper westbound roadway will
be closed starting at the Turnpike split. The first stage
of the project, which will likely continue until early spring
2006, will not impact the eastbound 12 th Street Viaduct. NJDOT
expects no significant traffic impacts during the first stage
of the project.
NJDOT
will then rehabilitate the existing structures. Work will
begin on the 14 th Street and then continue to the 12 th Street
Viaduct. All road and shoulder closures, detours and construction
hour changes will be made public to motorists in advance of and
during each subsequent stage of construction.
In
order to expedite work on critical aspects of the project and
minimize delays for motorists, NJDOT is utilizing the largest
contractor incentive/disincentive program in its history.
Under the program, the contractor is subject to penalties of $20,000
per day for work not finished according to the contract. Conversely,
the contractor can earn incentive payments of $20,000 per day
by completing the project ahead of schedule.
NJDOT
has taken a variety of steps to manage traffic and mitigate the
impact of traffic delays during the multi-stage project. NJDOT
by summer 2006 will pave several Jersey City roadways to provide
alternate routes for local traffic in the vicinity of the project.
The Department also is working with New Jersey Transit to provide
additional parking at and encourage motorists to use the Hudson-Bergen
light rail rather than Route 139 during construction. Long-term
traffic relief plans include enhanced rail and bus options and
traffic signal adjustments to smooth traffic flow.
NJDOT
is committed to providing motorists up-to-date information regarding
traffic conditions in the area. The
Department has undertaken a comprehensive public information campaign
which will help alert the public to important project information.
NJDOT employs a full-time, bilingual community liaison at the
project site to assist residents with project-related concerns.
In addition, NJDOT will post variable messages regarding
the Route 139 project on the New Jersey Turnpike Authority's signs
at Exits 12 and 13 of the Turnpike. Commuters can access real-time
traffic updates by logging onto www.njcommuter.com
or http://www.state.nj.us/transportation/commuter/roads/jcviaducts/
or
calling 877-NJROADS for emergency information.
NJDOT
planned the Route 139 rehabilitation project through extensive
coordination with Jersey City, New York City, Hudson County, New
Jersey Transit, the New Jersey Turnpike Authority and the Port
Authority of New York and New Jersey. NJDOT will continue to work
closely with its local and regional partners throughout the remainder
of the project.
