Work on complicated N.J. interchange forges forward thanks to COVID-reduced traffic
Updated Apr 03, 2021;
Posted Apr 03, 2021
A view of the Valley Road overpass from Route 46 as Stage 2 of the Route 3/Route 46 Interchange Improvement Project Contract B takes place on Friday, April 2, 2021John Jones | For NJ Advance Media
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While the coronavirus decimated traffic volume in 2020, that lack of cars on the highway was used by the state Department of Transportation to make more progress on a project to eliminate congestion and confusion at the complicated Route 3 split from Route 46.
While commuters hunkered down in their home offices during the height of the pandemic, construction crews were at work in the center of Route 46 in Little Falls, working on the $250 million interchange project. That work will realign highway interchanges, and has already added shoulders and lanes for traffic to accelerate. Several highway overpasses were also replaced.
Thu December 31, 2020 - Northeast Edition #1
Irwin Rapoport â CEG Correspondent
Stage 5 will complete the reconstruction of the proposed Route 46 median barrier from east of Lower Notch Road to Route 3, construct the proposed Valley Road southbound widening between Route 46 and Robin Hood Road, demolish the existing Route 46 eastbound bridge over Ramp K and complete the Route 46 median barrier to St. Philip Drive.
Union Paving & Construction Co. Inc. (UPC) started work on Contract B ($155.4 million) of the
New Jersey Department of Transportation s (NJDOT) $218.5 million project to reconstruct the Route 3, Route 46, Valley Road and Notch/Rifle Camp Road interchanges last February.
Contract A (approximately $62.6 million), financed by federal and state funds, and Contract B, federally funded, were initiated to correct existing operational and safety problems.