Presentation transcript
The complete narration of the Virtual Public Information Center presentation, in the order it is spoken, slide by slide. Everything said in the recording is written here.
This written transcript is provided as a text alternative to the narrated presentation. Synchronised captions on the video itself are still to come.
Welcome to the Virtual Public Information Center for the Route 3 and Route 495 Interchange Project sponsored by the New Jersey Department of Transportation. This Public Information Center, or PIC, will be available online until October 5, 2026. This presentation has been pre-recorded.
Please feel free to read through the information and materials at your convenience. We encourage you to submit questions and comments to the Department at the end of this presentation.
During the presentation, we will provide an overview of the project location, purpose and need, existing conditions, proposed improvements, environmental permits required, impacts to the North Bergen Park and Ride, construction staging and project schedule.
The Interchange project is located in Hudson County between Route 3 at Milepost 10.46 in the Town of Secaucus and Route 495 Milepost .78 in the Township of North Bergen.
To the west of the project site is the Eastern Spur of the New Jersey Turnpike at the northbound Interchange 16E and southbound Interchange 17 toll plaza. To the north of the project site is the Route 3 Interchange with Paterson Plank Road. To the south of the project is the Route 3 merge onto Routes 1&9 to and from Jersey City. To the east of the project site is access to Routes 1&9, local roads, and the Lincoln Tunnel.
At the Route 3 and Route 495 interchange is the New Jersey Transit Meadowlands Maintenance Facility and the North Bergen Park and Ride Commuter and Bus Lot. The project work includes improvements to the 30th Street exit.
The purpose of this project is to enhance safety and reduce delays at the Route 3 and Route 495 interchange.
The needs of this project are to provide operational and safety improvements to the interchange, and to replace four bridges at the interchange, here shaded in yellow:
Route 3 eastbound and the South Service Road over Ramp J, Route 495 westbound over Route 3, Route 495 westbound over Route 3, and Route 495 eastbound over Route 3.
Project goals include avoiding, minimizing, or mitigating impacts to right-of-way, utilities and environmentally sensitive areas; removing left hand exits and entrances; eliminating heavy weaving sections; and maintaining all traffic movements including the XBL – the Exclusive Bus Lane – during all phases of construction.
Route 3 and Route 495 are classified as Urban Principal Arterial Freeways / Expressways with posted speed limits of 50 miles per hour.
The Interchange is a crucial junction which serves over 250,000 vehicles daily. Both roadways typically have two to three lanes in each direction that are divided by a concrete median barrier. Route 3 has adjoining service roads, the South Service Road for eastbound traffic and the North Service Road for westbound traffic, that are separated from the mainline by a grass median.
West of the interchange, Route 495 ends at I-95 which is the Eastern Spur of the New Jersey Turnpike; and Route 3, via the service roads, has ramp connections to Paterson Plank Road towards Secaucus and North Bergen. East of the interchange, Route 3 ends at Route 1-9 to and from Jersey City, and Route 495 has ramp connections to local streets including 30th Street, John F. Kennedy Boulevard, Columbia Avenue, and Paterson Plank Road.
The roadways have multiple substandard features. There are substandard stopping sight distances on the horizontal and vertical curves, as well as substandard curve radii. The acceleration and deceleration lane widths are substandard, and the inside and outside shoulder widths are substandard. There are multiple safety and operational issues including heavy weaving areas in the current interchange design, as well as the frequent occurrence of rear-end and sideswipe collisions.
The Exclusive Bus Lane, or XBL, is a 2.5 mile contraflow bus lane along Route 495 westbound from the New Jersey Turnpike to the Lincoln Tunnel. The lane operates during weekday morning peak hours from approximately 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. During all phases of construction, the XBL is to be maintained.
The Preliminary Preferred Alternative selected in the Concept Development Phase has been refined in the Preliminary Engineering phase to develop the overall Project Plan shown on this slide. All roadways and ramps within project limits will be reconstructed to provide standard lane and shoulder widths. All guiderail throughout the interchange will be replaced with new guiderail that meets the current Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware standards.
Route 3 eastbound will be rebuilt with two lanes for left-hand continuation of the route parallel to the existing westbound alignment. The bridge carrying Route 3 eastbound and the South Service Road over Ramp J will be replaced.
Route 495 eastbound, starting from the New Jersey Turnpike Exit 16E to the Route 495 Viaduct will be divided into express and local roadways. The local roadway will serve points immediately east of the interchange such as 30th Street, Paterson Plank Road, and JFK Boulevard to serve North Bergen and Union City, and the express roadway will serve points further east such as Weehawken, Hoboken, and the Lincoln Tunnel. The Route 495 eastbound bridge over Route 3 will be replaced, and Route 495 eastbound will be aligned to be parallel to the westbound alignment. The Route 495 westbound bridge over Route 3 and the Route 495 westbound bridge over Ramp J will also be replaced.
The Route 495 eastbound exit towards JFK Boulevard, 30th Street, and Columbia Avenue connecting to Paterson Plank Road will be reconfigured as a 2-lane exit with the center lane of Route 495 eastbound becoming a decision lane to either the exit itself or to Route 495 eastbound. The two lanes will continue from the start of the exit to the split between the Route 495 eastbound entrance and 30th Street connecting to John F. Kennedy Boulevard.
The parking spaces lost at the North Bergen Park and Ride for interchange improvements will be relocated.
The interchange ramps will be realigned to remove left-hand exits and entrances, as well as to minimize weaving. The ramp improvements will be discussed more in detail on the following slides.
At the northeast side of the interchange, Ramp C from Route 3 westbound to Route 495 westbound and Ramp D from Route 495 westbound to Route 3 westbound have both been refined. Ramp C, shaded in yellow, will be built under Ramp D. Ramp D, which is also shaded in yellow, will have two bridges which are shaded in red over ramp C. This eliminates the multi-span curved girder bridge originally proposed for Ramp C, lowers the elevation of the Route 495 bridge over Route 3 by 10 feet, and lowers the overall vertical profile of the interchange. The interchange requires less fill, has less impact on the North Bergen Park and Ride, and is a more constructable design. A detention basin will also be built between Ramps C and D.
At the west side of the interchange, Ramp B from the South Service Road to Route 495 eastbound and Ramp J from Route 3 eastbound to Route 495 eastbound have been refined. Ramp J will be realigned from a left-hand exit to a right-hand exit from Route 3 eastbound. Ramp B will been realigned from a loop ramp to a ramp adjacent to Ramp J. This eliminates the heavy weave section between the South Service Road and Ramp B and the at-grade intersection between Ramp B and Ramp A.
A detention basin will also be built between Ramp J and Route 3 Eastbound.
Ramps A and H have also been refined. Ramp A from Route 3 westbound to Route 495 eastbound will be reconfigured to remove the at-grade intersections with Ramp H and Ramp B that was in both the existing design and the original Preferred Preliminary Alternative.
Ramp H from the local lanes of Route 495 eastbound to Route 3 eastbound has also been realigned to accommodate the realigned Ramps A and B.
This redesign also allows a potential on-site wetland restoration area of around 5 acres that was not originally available under existing conditions and the initial PPA. Additionally, two detention basins will be built between Ramp A and Route 3 eastbound.
There are multiple environmental resources present in the project. This interchange is within the Hackensack Meadowlands District and as such requires an NJDEP Hackensack Meadowlands Individual Water Quality Certificate.
Additional environmental permits and consultations that are anticipated include the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, USACE Nationwide Permit 23, Section 7 Endangered Species Consultation, NJDEP Flood Hazard Individual Permit, comply with NJDEP Stormwater Management Rules, the NJ SESC Plan Certification, and an NJPDES 5G3- C-Construction Activity Stormwater General Permit. Section 106 consultation with the State Historic Preservation Office will be ongoing.
The North Bergen Park & Ride will be impacted by the project. 165 parking spaces at the site of the future Ramp C will be impacted. In place of those parking spaces, 196 new parking spaces are to be built at the facility prior to construction of the new Ramp C.
This project will be constructed in five stages, maintaining at least two lanes of traffic in each direction on Route 495, all interchange movements, and the Exclusive Bus Lane.
Pre-Stage 1 will be the construction of the new parking spaces at the North Bergen Park and Ride. A temporary alignment for the ramp from Route 495 westbound to Route 3 westbound, Ramp D, will be built.
In Stage 1, the two Ramp D bridges over the future alignment of Ramp C will be built. The first half of the new Route 495 Bridges over Ramp J and Route 3 will be built. Construction will also begin on Ramp B and the more direct access to Route 3. Ramp D will be moved to its temporary alignment.
In Stage 2, the second half of the new Route 495 Bridges over Ramp J and Route 3 will be constructed. Route 495 westbound will be shifted to the new bridge.
In Stage 3, the first half of the bridge carrying Ramp J, Ramp A, and Route 495 Local Eastbound will be constructed. Route 495 Westbound will be shifted onto its permanent alignment, and Route 495 Express Eastbound will be opened. The new Ramp B will be opened, and Ramp J will be shifted to the right. The Ramp A bridge over Ramp H will be constructed offline in this stage.
In Stage 4, the second half of the new bridge carrying Ramp J, Ramp A, and Route 495 Local Eastbound will be constructed. Traffic using those movements will be shifted onto the new bridge.
In Stage 5, the temporary Ramp H alignment will be opened as the permanent Ramp H and Ramp K alignments are being constructed. After that is completed, Ramp H and Ramp K are to be shifted onto their permanent alignments. The widening of the ramp from Route 495 EB to Columbia Avenue will be constructed, and the traffic signal is to be replaced.
The Preliminary Engineering phase of this project is anticipated to be completed at the end of 2026 with Final Design commencing shortly thereafter. It is expected that Final Design will be completed in early 2029 with construction beginning in the fall of 2029. The five stages of construction are anticipated to continue through 48 months and conclude at the end of 2033.
Thank you for participating in the Virtual Public Information Center for the Route 3 and 495 Interchange project. Questions and comments can be submitted through the website or by mail or email to Patience Sengbey, NJDOT Office of Government and Community Relations, PO Box 600, Trenton. NJ 08625 or Patience.Sengbey@dot.nj.gov. Questions and comments will be accepted from September 21, 2026 to November 3, 2026.