The Newark Bay Bridge and the four miles between New Jersey Turnpike exits 14 and 14A are the focus of the first phase of the New Jersey Turnpike Authority’s plan to replace the Newark Bay-Hudson County Extension.
By Joshua Burd
The U.S. Coast Guard has signed off on the first piece of a plan to rebuild the Newark Bay-Hudson County Extension, supporting the findings of an environmental review by the New Jersey Turnpike Authority and issuing a key permit to help the $6 billion project proceed.
The agency on Wednesday issued what’s known as a Finding of No Significant Impact notice in connection with the initial phase, which calls for replacing the Newark Bay Bridge between Newark and Bayonne and several other structures. That validates the Turnpike Authority’s findings that the project will maintain or improve environmental and community quality and relieve the chronic traffic congestion between interchanges 14 and 14A, where the agency plans to build twin cable-stayed bridges with a combined eight lanes.
The notice, also known as a FONSI, came alongside a Bridge Permit from the Coast Guard that allows the NJTA to seek additional approvals it needs it begin the 10-year project by early 2026, according to a news release. As a mitigation condition of the FONSI, the Turnpike Authority said it agreed to provide air quality, noise and vibration monitoring systems, to require the use of low-emissions construction equipment and to continue engaging and collaborating with the community through the construction phase.
“While the Finding of No Significant Impact confirms that the project complies with federal public health guidelines, we are making sure we stay below those standards by implementing robust air quality and noise monitoring systems and taking other proactive steps to enhance the well-being of neighboring communities,” said James Carone, the authority’s executive director.
The Newark Bay Bridge project would kick off a larger plan for an 8.1-mile stretch of infrastructure that is 70 years old and in a perpetual state of maintenance. State officials have long said rehabilitating the existing bridges and roadways is not a long-term solution — especially for the four miles between exits 14 and 14A, where lane closures are a regular obstacle for drivers — while citing the rapid growth of Jersey City and Bayonne.
The existing Newark Bay Bridge will remain in service until 2031 while one of the new cable-stayed structures is built alongside it to the north, according to a news release. When that span is complete, all traffic will be shifted onto the new bridge and the existing bridge will be demolished.
When the second cable-stayed bridge is completed in 2036, traffic will shift into its permanent configuration with four eastbound lanes on one structure and four westbound lanes on the other.
“The people who rely on the Turnpike Extension everyday deserve safe, modern bridges,” Turnpike Authority Chief Engineer Daniel L. Hesslein said. “The Turnpike Authority has a plan to deliver them. The FONSI and bridge permits are important milestones in that process.”
Stretching from Exit 14 in Newark to the Jersey Avenue intersection in Jersey City, the full extension consists of 29 bridges or viaducts that officials say are at the end of their service life. The NJTA’s top priority is the four miles between exits 14 and 14A — the focus of the environmental review it performed — which includes rebuilding the Newark Bay or Vincent Robert Casciano Bridge as well as 14 other spans within that section.
The authority on Wednesday noted that, since 2021, it has coordinated with a host of agencies, community organizations and stakeholders throughout the concept planning, preliminary design, and environmental review phases of the first project. Public Information Centers were held in Newark, Bayonne and Jersey City, while the NJTA set up a virtual public information center and fact sheets in six languages were made available on the program website.
More than 1,200 responses were submitted to the Coast Guard during the public comment period, the news release said. Those comments are reflected in the final environmental assessment and in the adaptive management plan.
“We have prioritized listening to community voices and addressing their concerns,” said Lisa K. Navarro, a senior supervising engineer at the Turnpike Authority and program manager for the project. “We’ve conducted over 100 community and stakeholder meetings and 80 meetings with environmental agencies. The strong public health and air quality protections outlined in the adaptive management plan reflect the comments, concerns and recommendations relayed to us by the public during these meetings.”
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