Five weeks after the inbound lanes of the Pulaski Skyway were shut down for a two-year rehabilitation project, New Jersey Transportation Commissioner Jim Simpson says one of the temporary traffic relief measures will become permanent.
As part of the diversions during the $1.7 billion repair of the Skyway, a third lane was added to the Turnpike's Newark Bay extension (Exits 14A-C) during morning rush by using the shoulder lane.
"We haven't had any traffic jams," Simpson told NBC 4 New York in an exclusive interview, crediting the third turnpike lane along with commuters to Manhattan and Jersey City leaving early.
- NBC 4 New York's Pulaski Skyway Closure survival guide
Meanwhile, construction crews have already removed a couple of hundred yards of road decking in just five weeks of work on the more than 80-year-old structure that spans two rivers over its 3.5-mile length.
Workers showed NBC 4 New York joints where steel had turned to dust though they can still maintain two lanes of outbound traffic during the project.
