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Transportation Mission Statement

For Immediate Release Contact: Joe Dee

October 7, 2009 (609) 530-4280

NJDOT to close express lanes on Route 80 eastbound

(Trenton)- As part of an initiative to accelerate work on a major reconstruction project on Route

80 in Bergen and Passaic counties, the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT)
announced today that Route 80's eastbound express lanes will be temporarily closed to traffic from
east of the Garden State Parkway in Saddle Brook Township to west of Route 17 in Lodi Borough.
The closure is part of ongoing work to rehabilitate the highway's bridge decks and pavement
surfaces in a heavily-traveled eight-mile section from west of Madison Avenue to Polify Road in
Bergen and Passaic counties.

Starting on Wednesday, October 7, after the evening rush hour, NJDOT will close the Route 80
eastbound express lanes and shift eastbound traffic to the outer local lanes, including a temporary
lane created on the shoulder of the highway. The closure will remain in effect for approximately
three weeks. All truck traffic going to the George Washington Bridge should then reenter the
express lanes at the end of the closure, using the existing crossover located just west of Route 17.

Transportation Commissioner Stephen Dilts said the temporary closure of the express lanes will
allow the project contractor to work round-the-clock to repair that section, cutting months off
construction time and reducing the long-term disruption to traffic.

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agencies so that morning commuters are well informed and prepared. We will do everything
possible to minimize traffic impacts of the lane shift," he added.

Dilts also noted that the temporary closure will enable the contractor to minimize night-time
construction noise that would otherwise disturb citizens living along that stretch of Route 80.

In addition to having tow trucks on standby to assist motorists and keep traffic moving, NJDOT will
install variable message signs on I-80 and the New Jersey Turnpike to inform motorists of traffic
pattern changes during construction. Real time travel and construction information is available
online at www.nj511.info .

Throughout the project, 3 lanes will be available, with express lanes for about 3 weeks, followed
by local lanes for about 3 weeks. The project aims to have a base course of pavement and all
bridge decks rehabilitated by early December.

As part of this project, NJDOT will also repair 25 bridge decks along this segment of I-80, including
at the Route 19 interchange. After the eastbound express-lane work is completed, the contractor
will perform similar work on Route 80's local lanes in that section of the highway.

Altogether, the $15 million ARRA-funded project will resurface and repair I-80 eastbound from
milepost 58.2 to milepost 65.4 in Paterson, Elmwood Park, Saddle Brook, Lodi and Hackensack.
ARRA will stimulate New Jersey's economy by creating or supporting thousands of transportation-
related jobs and making long-term improvements to roads, bridges and the transit transportation
allocation includes $652 million for highways and bridges and approximately $425 million for
transit. That total includes approximately $164 million for county and local transportation priorities
and approximately $19.5 million for transportation enhancement projects."

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