Bayonne will host a public meeting on the Newark Bay-Hudson County Extension plan at the Woodrow Wilson Community School, located at 101 W. 56th St., on Tuesday from 6:30 p.m. until 8:30 p.m.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
The open house-style event will feature information boards describing the planned improvements, while Turnpike Authority staff and other members of the program team will be on hand to answer questions as well.
The Turnpike Authority will rebuild the entire 8.1-mile Newark Bay-Hudson County Extension under this Program. The improvements are designed to assure safety, relieve congestion and its harmful impacts, and accommodate the continued growth of the surrounding communities and port facilities.
“This public information event will provide Bayonne residents the opportunity to learn about the Turnpike Authority’s proposals,” Bayonne Mayor Jimmy Davis said in a statement.
“I urge residents who have questions or comments about the future of the Newark Bay-Hudson County Turnpike Extension to go to the Public Information Center at Woodrow Wilson Community School on May 28.”
In an editorial in The Jersey Journal this morning, Davis came out in support of the project.
The program consists of four independent projects. The first project, which will be the subject of the public session in Bayonne, involves rebuilding the section of the Extension between Interchange 14 in Newark and Interchange 14A in Bayonne and Jersey City.
Project 1 includes the construction of parallel cable-stayed bridges over Newark Bay.
“The Newark Bay-Hudson County Extension plays a vital role in New Jersey’s economy by providing access to the port facilities off Interchange 14A and to the thriving communities in the corridor,” added Turnpike Authority Executive Director James Carone.
“The 16 bridges and viaducts between Interchanges 14 and 14A have reached the end of their useful lives. We look forward to meeting with residents, drivers, and other interested parties at the upcoming public information center to explain our plan to replace them with modern structures designed to last for the next 100 years or more.”
The first public information center on project one was held in February at East Side High School in Newark. A third one will be held in Jersey City. Details on the date, time, and location of the Jersey City meeting are still to be determined.
The portion of the Extension between Interchange 14A and the eastern terminus at Jersey Avenue in Jersey City will be addressed in projects two, three, and four.
Those projects are scheduled to move to construction in the next decade. As they advance toward construction, additional public information centers will be scheduled.
For those unable to attend a public information center in person, the program team recorded a virtual version that describes the project and answers many frequently asked questions. That can be viewed here.
A draft Environmental Assessment of the improvements to be made between Interchanges 14 and 14A is posted online here.
