Pulaski Skyway closing this weekend for pier replacement work

🚗Motorists warned about major bridge closure
🚗Closure is necessary for pier replacement work
🚗Several options available to avoid delays

KEARNY — New Jersey motorists will have some travel headaches to contend with this weekend.

The 93-year-old Pulaski Skyway will be closed in both directions starting at 11 p.m. Friday through 5 a.m. Monday, according to the New Jersey Department of Transportation.

The NJDOT said if the work is completed ahead of schedule, the bridge will reopen before Monday at 5 a.m.

Why the Pulaski Skyway is closing

The NJDOT said the closure is part of an overall "rehabilitation" of the bridge that connects Newark and Jersey City. For this phase, the NJDOT said temporary supports will be installed so that a pier between Central Avenue and Hackensack Avenue in Kearny can be replaced.

According to an article published by NJ.com on July 15, 2025, the rehabilitation of the nearly 100-year-old span started in 2014. The total cost, according to NJ.com, has exceeded $1.7 billion.

The NJDOT said the overall work involved in this particular phase of the project includes replacing five separate piers, "as well as strengthen or replace structural steel as needed between mainline Skyway spans 70 through 77." The NJDOT said rock bearings will also be replaced at four of the spans, and all of the spans will be painted.

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Detours, closure points and project hotline

The NJDOT said motorists can avoid delays by using the New Jersey Turnpike-Hudson County Extension to reach Interstate 78, the Holland Tunnel, Route 1&9 Truck southbound and Interstate 280/Route 7.

Closures of the Pulaski Skyway will begin northbound near Newark Liberty International Airport, according to the NJDOT. Southbound closures will begin on Route 139 Lower Roadway over the Tonnele Circle, according to the NJDOT.

The 3.5-mile-long bridge carries over 70,000 vehicles per day, according to a history and background page posted by the NJDOT.

For questions about the rehabilitation project, motorists can call the NJDOT's project hotline at 973-776-7400.

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