Route 3 lane closure to continue
A lane closure of the eastbound Route 3 bridge over the Hackensack River in Secaucus will last longer than expected.
New Jersey Transportation Commissioner Jamie Fox ordered the bridge's right lane closed immediately on Tuesday, January 20 after test results showed cracks had developed in the steel of two sections of a long steel beam that supports the bridge’s main span.
Snow, however, has slowed completion of the project.
"We thought the work would last two weeks," said DOT spokesman Steve Schapiro, who says no additional problems were found with the bridge once the work was started.
The lane closure has had a major impact for those heading to the Lincoln Tunnel and on the travel routines for thousands of morning commuters on Route 3.
"We have noticed an average four mile delay during the morning sometimes swelling past five miles," said New Jersey Traffic North's Bob Williams. "The sooner the project is completed the better and hopefully safer we will be."
Schapiro says that once the work on Route 3 is complete there's no plans to close any other portions of major highway in New Jersey "but you never know" as the DOT continues its inspection of every bridge in New Jersey.
The right lane was closed to all traffic and trucks were banned from the far left lane.
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