Soon-to-open bridge will ease traffic woes
Six lanes instead of four now span Route 9 over Raritan River
BY JOLENE HART
Staff Writer

State Transportation Commissioner Jack Lettiere speaks during a ceremony marking the opening of the new northbound Edison Bridge.

SAYREVILLE — More than 60 years after its original opening, the newly renovated Route 9 Edison Bridge was officially unveiled this week as an improved expanse crossing the Raritan River.

The northbound lane of the project was the last portion to be completed, bringing an end to $48 million of construction work at the site.

New Jersey Department of Transportation Commissioner Jack Lettiere, along with state and local officials from Sayreville and Woodbridge, spoke at the foot of the bridge in Sayreville Tuesday, commending the rapid completion of the project that converts the old structure from a one-span, four-lane bridge to a comprehensive two-span, six-lane bridge. The renovated bridge also has shoulders on the outside lanes. The original structure had none.

"This is an example of ‘Fix it First’ working in New Jersey. Bridges don’t get better with age. We maintained and reconstructed this bridge and it will be good for another 75 years," said Lettiere, adding that the aesthetics of the bridge also were maintained.

PHOTOS BY JEFF GRANIT staff Motorists look over as officials speak during a press conference marking the opening of the northbound Edison Bridge in Sayreville Tuesday.

A completed southbound span of the bridge has been used by traffic in both directions while the older northbound section underwent renovation.

Two of the northbound lanes were to open yesterday, and all three northbound lanes will be open in six weeks. All three of the southbound lanes will be open for travel in under six months, Lettiere said.

During renovations, the superstructure of the old bridge was removed and reconstructed in the model of the new southbound side, DOT officials said.

State Assemblyman John S. Wisniewski, a Sayreville resident and chairman of the Assembly Transportation Committee, credited federal and state cooperation with the funding of the project.

The Victory Bridge that brings Route 35 across the Raritan River is being replaced.

"Although the Edison Bridge project was primarily funded with federal money, it was our state’s Transportation Trust Fund that provided the important final dollars necessary to bring the improvements to fruition," he said.

"Transportation is vital for the economy of New Jersey," Lettiere said during the ribbon-cutting ceremony. "Area commuters can now spend 15 minutes more each day with their families rather than stuck in a bottleneck at the foot of the Edison Bridge."

The Route 9 Edison Bridge carries more than 82,000 vehicles daily.

The reopening marks a significant step toward the completion of three separate Raritan River bridge construction projects, the Route 9 Edison Bridge, the Route 35 Victory Bridge and the Alfred E. Driscoll Bridge, which carries the Garden State Parkway.

Jose Hernandez of the consultant group Louis Berger stands within the original pylons of the bridge, talking with his associates.

The Victory Circle, the remaining part of the Route 9 Edison project, is being eliminated because it does not meet current traffic demands, according to the DOT. A new bridge will be built to carry Route 9 over the realigned Route 35. The project is scheduled for completion next June.

Construction of a new bridge that will replace the Route 35 Victory Bridge began in December 2002 and will continue until December 2005, according to DOT updates. The original Victory Bridge was the largest car-carrying swing bridge in the state when it opened in 1926.

The new, fixed bridge will replace the older swing bridge to connect Perth Amboy and Sayreville. The bridge will feature two 12-foot travel lanes in each direction and will be high enough to accommodate marine traffic, according to the DOT.

An agreement between the New Jersey Turnpike Authority and the New Jersey Highway Authority will fund construction of a third project, a new southbound addition to the Driscoll Bridge, next to the existing bridge.

According to the DOT, the McGreevey Administration has invested nearly $250 million into the three neighboring projects in an effort to repair aging transportation infrastructure and ease congestion.