TRENTON – NJDOT officials today announced that Route 22 westbound traffic has been placed onto the southern half of the new viaduct being constructed over Liberty Avenue in Hillside.
On Tuesday night, Dec. 20, NJDOT’s contractor, Union Paving and Construction Inc., shifted both Route 22 westbound travel lanes onto the recently completed southern portion of the new viaduct as construction operations continue on the northern half of the bridge. The Route 22 eastbound travel lanes were placed on the southern portion of the new bridge in late-November.
The $22 million project is replacing the existing, structurally deficient viaduct with two new separate structures: a single span bridge over the ShopRite access road and a multiple span bridge over Liberty Avenue and Conrail. The new viaduct is being built on a new alignment, 23 feet to the south of the existing structure. Shifting the roadway alignment to the south allows NJDOT to maintain traffic on Route 22 during construction and helps hasten completion of the project.
Construction began in June 2010 and is expected to be completed by the end of 2012.
Motorists are encouraged to check NJDOT’s traffic information website www.511nj.org for construction updates and real-time travel information.
