JERSEY CITY AND BEYOND – The Pulaski Skyway in Jersey City will be closed to New-York bound motorists for two years beginning in 2014 after Super Bowl XLVIII, according to a report by NBC 4 New York. The bridge serves as a major thoroughfare for drivers heading to Manhattan via the Holland Tunnel.
Unnamed sources were attributed as saying that the 80-year-old structure is, “massively used, massively worn out.” NBC 4 New York declined to name the sources.
A $1 billion restoration project, which could take several years overall, was to be announced Thursday in Newark. The project that affects New York-bound commuters will last about two years. According to the news report, two of the bridge’s four lanes will be “redecked” at a time, but only outbound traffic will be allowed, no matter which lanes are under construction.
Hudson County executive Tom DeGise was quoted as saying the closure would present a “horrible, horrible predicament,” and that there are no good alternatives for work on a bridge that was built with the same truss construction as an interstate highway span that collapsed in Minnesota several years ago, killing several motorists.
Commuters will likely face challenges finding alternate routes.
The work will not begin until after the Super Bowl hubbub is over, since the game will be held nearby in the Meadowlands.