Route 3 westbound overnight lane closure needed to implement traffic shift in Rutherford

New abutment completed providing a continuous right shoulder under Ridge Road

(Trenton) -New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) officials today announced the completion of the new north abutment for the Ridge Road Bridge over Route 3 allowing the opening of the continuous right shoulder in the westbound direction under the bridge in Rutherford, as the Ridge Road and Orient Way Bridges over Route 3 replacement project advances.

In order to reopen the right lane and new shoulder and shift traffic to allow work in the median, overnight lane closures are necessary tonight and tomorrow night on Route 3 westbound just before the Ridge Road Bridge.  When work is complete, westbound traffic will be shifted to the right, with the left lane closed.

Beginning at 10 p.m. tonight, Thursday, February 28, until 5 a.m. tomorrow, and if necessary again at 10 p.m. Friday, March 1 until 6 a.m. the next day, NJDOT’s contractor, Carbro Contractors Corp., is scheduled to close one lane on Route 3 westbound before the Ridge Road Bridge to reposition concrete barriers. Between 11 p.m. and 4 a.m. a second lane will be closed, with periodic 15 minute shutdowns to move the barriers. Once the traffic shift is complete, the right lane and new right shoulder under the Ridge Road Bridge on Route 3 westbound will be open and the left lane will be closed to allow for a median work zone. At least two lanes will be maintained overnight.

Route 3 eastbound Daytime Lane Closures Next Week
Next week, Monday, March 4 through Thursday, March 7 from 9:30 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. each day, the left lane of Route 3 eastbound will be closed to allow work in the median to form and pour the concrete piers that will support the new beams for the bridge.

The federally-funded $26.7 million project began in March 2018 and will replace both the Ridge Road Bridge and the Orient Way Bridge over Route 3, provide a continuous full-width right shoulder on Route 3 in both directions to help ease congestion, and make improvements to the Polito Avenue and Rutherford Avenue intersection, including traffic signal improvements and ADA compliant sidewalk ramps.

The project is being constructed in five stages and NJDOT is using Accelerated Bridge Construction (ABC) techniques to reduce the time it will take to replace the bridges. The entire project is expected to be completed by the summer of 2020. As the Ridge Road and Orient Way Bridges over Route 3 project advances, NJDOT will provide additional information including ramp or lane closures and detours.

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 and for NJDOT news follow us on Twitter @NJDOT_info and on our Facebook page.