Drivers who use River Road during peak commuting hours will eventually be able to give their brakes a rest. The stop-and-go traffic on the strip that connects Bergen and Hudson County will be bigger and better within the next year.
Hudson County Executive Robert Janiszewski along with North Bergen Mayor and State Senator Nick Sacco, Guttenberg Mayor Robert Sabello and Freeholder Thomas Liggio announced the commencement of the River Road Widening Project this past Monday.
“With the number of cars utilizing River Road, especially during rush hour, it is time to alter the roadway to better accommodate the traffic,” said Janiszewski. “Thousands of commuters and local residents use the road each day and this amount of use is the major reason for the expansion. We need a better road to alleviate the traffic and ensure the roadway’s longevity.”
Preliminary clearing of the site has already begun. The end result will be a five-lane road, two lanes in each direction with an additional shared left turn lane in the center of the road, designed to better fit and handle the number of cars using the roadway.
The project will also include the reconstruction of traffic signals, curbs and sidewalks.
The traffic signal improvement will be at the Palisades Medical Center Drive, Bulls Ferry Road and new installation at Roc Harbor Drive. The lights will feature the latest technologies including LED (Light Emitting Diodes), which last longer and are more energy efficient than incandescent bulbs, and a controller system that allows traffic personnel to monitor and adjust the traffic signals from the county home office with a computer. “Anyone who drives down River Road knows that there’s a major medical center and can see the struggle that emergency vehicles have passing through during rush hour,” said Sacco. “With the added traffic from the heavy construction of the two new towers over the next few years, we knew we could be facing a virtual nightmare. This construction is long overdue, and we ask that you be patient in the next 10 months, because the wait is well worth it and traffic will ease up.”
Drainage improvements will also be made, with a construction of a new storm sewer along the widened eastern portion of the road to alleviate flooding during storms. New curbs, concrete sidewalks, signs and long lasting traffic strips with raised pavement reflectors are also part of the project. And SuperPave, the latest in high strength long lasting pavement technology, will be used.
For the time being …
The county executive said that the two-way traffic will be maintained during construction at all times, though delays are still anticipated during rush hour. Off-duty sheriff and officers will be used to help direct traffic. Traffic control devices will also be set up to ensure these high traffic hours flow as smoothly as possible. “There will be no need to close the road or impede the two-way traffic, so we don’t believe the traffic conditions will worsen,” said Janiszewski. “We believe that this choke point will soon be evaporated and will assist in the air-quality control concern.”
The stretch of River Road to be expanded runs from Ferry Road in Guttenberg to the Bergen County border, broadening the road from about 36 feet to about 80 or 90 feet. This $2,726,000 project will completed with more than $2.65 million in New Jersey Department of Transportation Local Aid money. Construction is estimated to take roughly a year, and the contractor is Marbell Inc. of Carlstadt, New Jersey.