The Beatles were a hit in Europe in 1962 and were just being discovered in America. That year, Interstate 80 started pushing its way through Bergen and Passaic counties along with a string of overpasses carrying local streets over it, all built between 1962 and 1971.
These aging spans are tired and state Department of Transportation officials have proposed a massive, $900 million, 10-year construction project to replace the nine bridges and rebuild and widen part of the expressway underneath them between Totowa and Hackensack.
“The bridges were built during the original (I-80) construction,” said NJDOT spokesperson Steve Schapiro. “Of the nine bridges being replaced, the oldest was built in 1962, five were built in 1963, one in 1964, one in 1965, and one in 1971.”
Those bridges are feeling their age. Three of the bridges made the American Road & Transportation Builder Association list of the top 10 most traveled deteriorated bridges in the state, based on Federal Highway Administration data.
“A number of bridge decks, superstructures and complete bridges within the project limits need to be replaced due to their poor condition,” he said.
Another 11 bridges will have the superstructures rebuilt and five will get new bridge decks. The project includes reconstructing, or repaving, 28 entrance and exit ramps
The almost 10 miles of highway underneath isn’t in much better condition, with DOT calling the pavement “deteriorated,” the drainage poor and the expressway shoulders substandard. In addition, the westbound lanes narrow from four to three lanes in Paterson.
“A two-mile section in Paterson has a bottleneck where four lanes are reduced to three lanes that contributes to severe congestion, and crash rates are higher than statewide averages through the project limits,” Schapiro said. “The project is designed to improve all of these issues.”
The project extends from Riverview Drive in Totowa, through Woodland Park, Paterson, Elmwood Park, Saddle Brook, Rochelle Park, Lodi and ends at Polifly Road in Hackensack.
In 2021, the most recent year the DOT has statistics for, there were 1,001 crashes on that stretch of I-80. About 1.6 miles of Route 80’s westbound lanes will be widened through Paterson to address those issues. The existing Lakeview Avenue and Trenton Avenue overpass bridges will be reconstructed to accommodate the new lanes, Schapiro said.
“This project will improve the safety, congestion and operation of approximately 10 miles of I-80 westbound in Passaic County and Bergen Counties,” he said.
The project includes building 16 noise barriers to protect neighborhoods.
The timetable for the project is roughly 13 years, starting with preliminary engineering and design being done this year. Construction could start at the end of 2027 and be completed in fall of 2037.
“It is expected that construction will begin on the section being widened in Paterson and the I-80 over Route 17 southbound portion in Lodi, although the project is still in design and construction staging may change,” Schapiro said.
While the DOT will have to buy some private property for the project, no residential properties are expected to be acquired during this phase of the project, he said.
