Major roads in downtown Jersey City are finally getting a makeover, although some fear what will happen when Christopher Columbus Drive turns into a five-lane highway.
Right now, a new traffic island is being added to an intersection at Second and Washington streets. The city is also paving and widening pothole-ridden Christopher Columbus Drive, and making many streetscape improvements on a portion of Newark Avenue.
While other roads in the city may also need repairs, the downtown roads have taken precedence due to their function as tributaries leading into the Holland Tunnel or to the city’s financial district by the Jersey City waterfront.
Downtown City Councilman Steven Fulop said these road projects are “long overdue.”
“It’s about time.” – Sonia Araujo
________
Christopher Columbus Drive
This mile-long Christopher Columbus Drive stretches east from the 14C exit of the New Jersey Turnpike all the way to Hudson Street by the Hudson River waterfront. But the road has been for many years a pothole-strewn thoroughfare that has been a nightmare for drivers.
Already, paving work was done last year from Monmouth Street going west to the entrance to the Turnpike on Merseles Street.
The next paving, which is already underway, will go east from Monmouth Street to Warren Street. That paving is being conducted in conjunction with a streetscape project that calls for the demolition of existing curb and sidewalk from Monmouth to Warren, and constructing new curbs and sidewalks simultaneously.
This paving project will continue into next year.
Five-lane highway?
But this project has paved the way for criticism from some residents who are worried about the long-term goal by the city – to turn Columbus Drive into a five-lane highway. During evening rush hour, parking would be prohibited on one side of the street to create three lanes of traffic going west to the Turnpike, and two going east. And it would be vice versa for the morning rush hour.
Fulop said he is aware of the complaints but said efforts were to try to “strike a balance” between accommodating more traffic coming into the city and trying to provide parking as more families move into the area.
At least one resident, Sonia Araujo, is happy about Christopher Columbus Drive getting a makeover.
Araujo and her family have lived for 25 years in a house near the corner of Monmouth Street and Columbus Drive.
“I’m so happy they are finally doing this work, because my house shakes whenever trucks come down Christopher Columbus Drive and hit a pothole,” Araujo said. “It’s about time.”
Newark Avenue gets brighter
Newark Avenue, from Grove Street to Summit Avenue, is seeing a makeover as part of a three-phase streetscape project. The first two phases, nearing completion, from Grove Street to Coles includes new sidewalks, lights, and crosswalks. The city will also install a new street clock on Grove Street and a monument at the corner of Jersey and Newark Avenues to honor the late William Mercado, who was operated a flavored ice cart in that area before his death in 1994.
Phase three, from Coles Street to Summit Avenue, will include repaving of Newark Avenue, benches, trash cans, lights, new sidewalks, and crosswalks. That part of the project is scheduled to start in June and be completed by May 2011. The entire project is being funded by the federal government.
Fulop said this project is “tremendously important” as it helps to beautify a road that is one of many entryways into the city.
Washington, Greene, and Second intersection
Construction work at the intersection of Washington, Greene, and Second Streets is underway. The location is in the vicinity of the old Hudson and Manhattan Powerhouse.
Downtown Jersey City drivers are now subject to a new, permanent traffic pattern between Exchange Place and the Newport area. That’s because the section of Greene Street between Columbus Drive and Second Street is one-way northbound, while the parallel section of Washington Street between Columbus Drive and Second Street will be one-way southbound.
To further solidify the traffic change, contractors are currently demolishing the existing curb and sidewalk and constructing a new traffic island at the intersection.
Ricardo Kaulessar can be reached at rkaulessar@hudsonreporter.com.