Route 139 lower level westbound
to be closed overnight during the week
as part of Pulaski Contract 2

Westbound traffic will be detoured onto Route 139 upper level

(Trenton) – New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) officials today announced Route 139 lower level westbound will be closed overnight during the week with traffic shifted to Route 139 upper level as part of the Pulaski Skyway Contract 2.

Beginning tonight, December 1, overnight construction will reduce Route 139 lower level westbound to a single lane from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m., and then both lanes will be closed from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. the next morning, Monday through Thursday nights.  Two lanes will be maintained on Route 139 upper level westbound during the full lower level closure.

During the day, the traffic pattern on Route 139 lower level will remain in its current configuration with one eastbound lane and two westbound lanes.

The following detours will be in place:

• Traffic will be diverted to the upper level of Route 139 westbound to JFK Boulevard, where it will be directed to turn left and then to the first right onto the ramp leading to Tonelle Circle. From there traffic can access the Pulaski Skyway southbound and Route 1&9 Truck Northbound.

• Traffic heading to Route 1&9 Truck or Route 7 will take Route 1&9 northbound and take the Country Road jughandle and turn left onto Manhattan Avenue eastbound. At the next light, traffic will turn right onto Route 1&9 southbound to the ramp for Route 1&9 Truck and Route 7.

The overnight lower level westbound closure will allow NJDOT’s contractor, Schiavone Construction, to install shielding and to demolish the overhead existing deck and to reconstruct the abutments and columns of Route 139 eastbound upper level, as well as make improvements to the Conrail Viaduct.

This work is part of the $104 million Pulaski Contract 2, which will repair and improve the upper and lower levels of Route 139. Route 139 links the eastern end of the Pulaski Skyway to the Jersey City waterfront and the Holland Tunnel. During this contract, the deck on Route 139 upper level eastbound will be replaced, along with five cross street bridges from Palisade Avenue to Kennedy Boulevard.

Contract 2 is part of the $1 billion Pulaski Skyway rehabilitation project, which is being advanced through 10 separate construction contracts into the year 2020. The massive improvement project will extend the life of the Skyway by 75 years.

In April 2014, NJDOT began Contract 3, which is the closure of the Pulaski Skyway northbound lanes for two years while the existing deck of the 3.5-mile long structure that carries Route 1&9 traffic is replaced. Two southbound travel lanes will be maintained during this phase of the rehabilitation project.

NJDOT created a project-specific website - www.pulaskiskyway.com - which contains a wealth of information about the Skyway and the project, and will be updated with relevant new information as work progresses. The Department is carefully coordinating the Pulaski Skyway project with other regional transportation infrastructure projects to minimize traffic congestion.

The Department has a hotline telephone number, 973-776-7400, and encourages anyone who has questions, concerns or suggestions to contact the Project Outreach Team as work progresses.

The precise timing of the work is subject to change due to weather or other factors.  Motorists are encouraged to check NJDOT’s traffic information website www.511nj.org for real-time travel information.