Gov. Chris Christie (R) announced that the “Raise the Roadway” portion of the Bayonne Bridge project will be completed by June 30 – six months ahead of schedule.
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“Today is really a great day for this entire metropolitan area as we reach a really important milestone in one of America’s most significant and complex infrastructure projects to facilitate global trade,” Christie said at Port Elizabeth today.
“Port Authority has advised me that by June 30, the $1.6 billion Bayonne Bridge ‘Raise the Roadway’ Project will have progressed to the point where the world’s largest, most efficient and environmentally friendly container vessels will be able to travel beneath it,” explaining that this will only increase business at the Newark and Elizabeth port terminals
Back in October 2015, Bayonne residents and officials alike were dismayed when the Port Authority announced the project would be delayed by two years.
This fact wasn’t lost on the governor, who attributed the delay to harsh winters in 2014 and 2015, as well as “changes in project staging” taken to ensure the integrity of the existing steel arch.
The Raise the Roadway aspect of construction aims to increase the current elevation of the roadway from 151 feet to 215 feet, the same height as the nearby Verrazano-Narrows Bridge.
