Repairs are underway after a landslide took down a large chunk of the western slope of Jersey City Heights along a portion of Paterson Plank Road last January. While never a threat to the roadway that connects Secaucus, Union City, North Bergen and Jersey City, the landslide did cause a major shift in the area above Tonnelle Avenue, Hudson County officials said.
“The road itself is on Palisade rock, so there was never a danger that it would collapse,” said County Engineer Demetrio Arencibia. “We shifted the lanes in order to increase safety.”
This section of road runs on a slant from the foot of the Route 495 overpass near the North Bergen-Union City border up into the top of Jersey City Heights.
The landslide occurred about halfway up the hill just below an area occupied by a closed car wash.
The problem could have been worse, but the mud slid down into an section of land along Tonnelle Avenue that had been used by NJ Transit as a staging area for the canceled ARC Tunnel project, and has since largely been a storage area.
“The road is on solid rock which won’t erode even if the slope does.” – County Engineer Demetrio Arencibia
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Had it occurred slightly north or south, the landslide could have affected property that is used by the general public, such as an Indian reception hall, a Taco Bell, and a service station.
Arencibia said repairs were slow to start largely because of the extreme weather last winter and extensive engineering studies needed to assure that the land would remain secure. A long stone wall runs along the cliff side of Paterson Plank Road, and this seems to have not been compromised by the slide.
Repair design has worked elsewhere
Maser Consulting of Red Bank was hired to conduct borings and prepare plans for the repair. But most of the borings could not be done until the summer thaw. The cost of the project was estimated at about $700,000, officials said.
The project will use a system of roadside repair similar to one that is done along major highways where falling stone and soil is common. This involves wire cages containing stone that will help secure the ground and prevent future landslides.
The county Engineering Department has an agreement with NJ Transit to use the property along Tonnelle Avenue to access the area.
“The slide happened just after the beginning of the year during one of the storms we had then,” Arencibia said. “It is considered a mild earth slide between Plank Road and the old public storage. The actual work started last week (late November.) We couldn’t do much over the winter although we did hire a firm to investigate and come up with a design for the repair.”
Arencibia said this was not the first repair done to the slope. Apparently a similar landslide occurred about 30 years ago and was repaired using soil, gravel and asphalt.
“That repair didn’t last too long,” he said. “This one will.”
Part of the problem is the unpredictable drainage in the area that caused the slide in the first place, and the new repair will be designed to deal with drainage. The stone-filled cages will hold down the compacted soil, and will be much more secure, he said.
Work should be completed within three months, if the weather holds up.
“We can’t work in rain,” he said.
While the roadway has cones that push traffic slightly away from the wall, he said this is just a precaution.
“The road is on solid rock which won’t erode even if the slope does,” he said. “This accident happened 11 months ago and nothing has changed with the road since. We’ve been monitoring it.”
Al Sullivan may be reached at asullivan@hudsonreporter.com.