BAYONNE – The completion of the Bayonne Bridge “Raise the Roadway” project will now take until mid-2019 and could result in additional costs of up to 15 percent, the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey announced on Wednesday, Oct. 1.
In the spring, authority officials said the new roadway would be completed in early 2018.
When completed, the $1.3 billion project will raise the existing 151-foot roadway to 215 feet, the same height as the nearby Verrazano-Narrows Bridge. The extra height is needed for the larger ships which will transport goods from the Panama Canal in a few years.
Navigational clearance at the Bayonne Bridge for the world’s largest container ships is now expected in late 2017, according to the agency’s revised timetable.
The “Raise the Roadway” project is the first time engineers are constructing a bridge roadway deck above an existing roadway while causing limited disruption to traffic on the lower deck. The joint venture of Skanska Koch/Kiewit Infrastructure Co. (JV) is handling construction.
Port Authority officials said numerous challenges have necessitated the push back of the construction schedule, including the harsh winter of 2014-2015; complicated steel reinforcement activities that required additional repairs and modifications; modifications to the existing steel arch to ensure safety and allow traffic to continue during construction; and changes in project staging to address community concerns and reduce construction impacts overnight.
“Although a number of challenges have impacted the project’s timetable, we continue to monitor Skanska JV’s construction progress and, together with Skanska JV, anticipate completion within the schedule announced today,” said Port Authority Executive Director Pat Foye.
The construction on the “Raise the Roadway” project is almost 50 percent complete, an official said.
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