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route 3 passaic river crossing project graphic

History

The New Jersey Department of Transportation's (NJDOT) Bureau of Project Scope Development completed a Feasibility Assessment Study in 2000 to determine the transportation problems and needs for Route 3 from Main Avenue in Clifton, Passaic County to the Route 17 Interchange in Lyndhurst and Rutherford, Bergen County.

The study resulted in the selection of an Initial Preferred Alternative (IPA) for replacement of the Route 3 Bridge over the Passaic River and improvement of Route 3 and its accesses to enter and exit Route 3, to conform to current design standards. The IPA was accepted by the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority (NJTPA) in 2001.

The project completed the Final Scope Development and Technical Environmental Studies stage. This stage refined the IPA and determined environmental effects that will influence the design, such as wetlands, noise and air quality, possible hazardous materials in adjacent land or water, archaeological concerns, historic buildings or structures and socio-economic considerations.

As part of the Final Scope Development process, copies of the project Environmental Assessment and Technical Environment Studies were sent in August 2002 to the appropriate federal, state, county and local governments, as well as public and private agencies, for review and comment. Written comments from the public were also accepted for two weeks following the Public Hearings.

Once all the comments were received, appropriate responses were prepared. A summary of the comments and responses was then forwarded to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), together with a request for a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for the project. In June 2003, the FHWA issued the FONSI, concurring that the project is needed and that the environmental issues and impacts have been addressed by appropriate mitigation measures and authorized proceeding to the next phase, Preliminary Design. A FONSI package was distributed to federal, state, county and local governments in February 2004 for record purposes. The project was on hold from June 2003 to December 2003 due to lack of design funds. Design funds were allocated in November 2003 and the Preliminary Design Phase began and was completed in early 2005.

Commencement of the Final Design phase was delayed due to funding issues experienced by NJDOT towards the end of 2005. As a result the project was "smart sized", splitting the large project into smaller components to have more competitive bidding. This phase commenced in February 2007 and was completed in January 2010. Construction will begin in 2010 and be completed in stages in order to minimize construction impacts on the community and expedite construction.

 
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  Department of Transportation
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  Trenton, NJ 08625-0600
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  Last Updated:  March 14, 2011