NJDOT
and Jersey City offer free pedestrian shuttle on Route 139
Complimentary
service will start March 20
(Trenton)
Commissioner Kris Kolluri and Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy
today announced that the New Jersey Department of Transportation
(NJDOT) starting March 20 will offer a free shuttle service (pdf 189 kb) for
pedestrians on the 12th and 14th Street Viaducts in Jersey City.
"The
Route 139 complimentary shuttle service is part of NJDOT's overall
mission to increase safety and to mitigate disturbances related
to our construction projects," said Commissioner Kolluri. "The
shuttle service will improve the safety and mobility of local
pedestrians affected by NJDOT's Route
139 Holland Tunnel Approaches rehabilitation project."
NJDOT's
pedestrian shuttle will run from 6 to 10 a.m. and 3 to 7 p.m.
to accommodate identified peak pedestrian hours for the remainder
of the construction project. Pedestrians may access the shuttle
on 14th Street between Hoboken and Palisade Avenues and on the
East side of Jersey Avenue between 12th and 14th Street (in
the emergency loading zone). NJDOT will evaluate potential service
hours and routes for six months to ensure maximum ridership.
"I
am pleased to offer Jersey City residents a safe means to cross
Route 139 during the rehabilitation of the Holland Tunnel approaches"
said Mayor Healy. "I look forward to working with NJDOT to ensure
that this project progresses in a manner that is sensitive to
the needs of local residents."
NJDOT
partnered with Jersey City and the Hudson and Meadowlink TMA's
to provide the shuttle service and educate pedestrians regarding
the dangers of walking along the viaduct and to advertise the
availability of the shuttle.
During
the first stage of construction this fall, NJDOT removed a sidewalk
that pedestrians commonly used in order to traverse the viaducts.
Pedestrians began walking down the viaduct from Hoboken Avenue
East to Jersey Avenue and crossing where the Turnpike and the
Route 139 merge. The complimentary shuttle service will provide
pedestrians a safe and efficient means to travel the viaducts.
The
Route 139 Approach to the Holland Tunnel Project is a federally-funded,
$225 million project that will rehabilitate and reconstruct the
existing, structurally deficient 12th and 14th Street Viaducts.
NJDOT on March 13 will start the second phase of the project,
which will entail the repair of the lower roadway area where the
12 th and 14 th Street viaducts merge. Crews will replace and
waterproof the concrete deck and bridge walls, repair structural
steel, and install steel beams under the viaducts to ensure their
structural integrity. In addition, NJDOT will improve motorist
safety by securing the viaducts' foundations.
