Passaic River Bridges to Close Intermittently for Next Several Months

Essex County Executive Joseph N. DiVincenzo, Jr. has announced that four Essex County bridges over the Passaic River will be closed for a short period of time six days a week for the next five months. This will enable barges transporting contaminated soil removed from the river access out of the area.

The Lower Passaic River Study Area Cooperating Parties Group (CPG), under the supervision of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), is beginning to remove 20,000 cubic yards of contaminated river sediment from the Passaic River in Lyndhurst. One barge per day will travel down the Passaic River, requiring the 11 bridges along the way – including four in Essex County – to be opened.

“Motorists who cross the Passaic River in Essex County can expect our four bridges that cross the Passaic River to be closed for short periods of time while barges transporting contaminated soil removed from the river travel through the area. We ask for everyone’s patience and cooperation while this project to clean the waterway is conducted,” DiVincenzo said. “While we may be temporarily inconvenienced, the dredging that is taking place will improve the health of the Passaic River and help make it a resource for the future,” he pointed out.

The four bridges in Essex County that will be affected are the following:

·       Kingsland Avenue Bridge in Nutley

·       Route 7 Bridge in Belleville

·       Clay Street Bridge in Newark

·       Bridge Street Bridge in Newark

The schedule to open the bridges for the barges is being coordinated with the high tide of the Passaic River. The times that the bridges will be closed to vehicular traffic vary, but a majority will occur overnight. Special attention was given to avoid closing the roads during peak travel times and when special events were taking place at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center and Prudential Center in Newark and Red Bulls Stadium in Harrison.

The CPG will post a two-week look ahead schedule that forecasts when barges will move up or down the Passaic River and the estimated time of when each bridge will be closed to traffic. The schedules can be seen at www.rm109.com.