Traveling east out of Secaucus isn’t what it used to be.
It used to be bad. Now it’s worse.
Although state and county officials say the work being done on three critical intersections along the eastern border of town will make it easier to get in and out of town in the future, over the next two years, drivers can expect the same rush hour bumper-to-bumper traffic plaguing sections of Paterson Plank Road, Secaucus Road, and New County Road.
Claiming something needs to be done to alleviate the situation, local officials will be seeking a summit with officials from the county, state and federal governments to help ease the situation a little.
The construction of bridges over three railroad crossings will eventually allow traffic to pass more easily instead of waiting for long freight trains. But the price of this construction means detours and delays.
“What we want to do is develop strategies that will make the situation a little more tolerable,” said Mayor Dennis Elwell, who has asked for a meeting with State Sen. Nicholas Sacco (D-North Bergen), U.S. Sen. Robert Torricelli (D-NJ), Congressman Steve Rothman (D-9th Dist.), and state Assemblyman Anthony Impreveduto (D-32nd Dist.) “I invited them to sit down in an attempt to deal with some of the problems that will result from construction on Secaucus road and Paterson Plank Road. Every eastbound exit out of Secaucus is under construction.”
Elwell said he is looking to find a way to “lessen the impact” of the traffic. This could involve traffic enforcement and changes to how trains are scheduled through intersections.
“We believe that it has to be dealt with on all levels of government,” Elwell said. “We intend meet several times and talk with the representatives of [freight rail company] Norfolk Southern. If we can develop a plan, I think we can handle the situation.”
Construction on key intersections is expected to last for two years.
Elwell said one significant factor in the traffic jams has to do with the state’s instituting Easy Pass on the Turnpike, which allows traffic to hit local roads much sooner than previously. Now instead of the traffic backing up at the toll booths, he said, the cars come onto local roads and onto Route 3 and back up there. Elwell said that in some cases, the roads will be closed at the railroad crossings, meaning that traffic will be diverted to other streets – streets already full of traffic, thus making traffic even more congested.
“We have to have some kind of game plan,” Elwell said, noting that meetings have already taken place between the North Bergen and Secaucus traffic control departments.
Rail bridge idea developed in 1980s
The proposal to build bridges over the rail tracks on Secaucus Road near Tonnelle Avenue, Paterson Plank Road near West End Avenue and other locations developed in the late 1980s when the increasing traffic in Hudson and lower Bergen County encouraged officials to push for a light rail transit system.
The light rail system, which will eventually take over tracks along the eastern side of the Palisades – running from Weehawken south through Hoboken and Jersey City – will cause goods-laden train traffic to shift to tracks that run along the west side from North Bergen to Jersey City. Already, rail yards along Secaucus Road have become vast storage yards for box cars similar to those found in Elizabeth.
After federal, state and local officials gave permission to rail companies to increase train traffic in and out of freight yards south of Secaucus Road, Paterson Plank Road bore significant traffic problems.