Pulaski Skyway Shutdown - At least a 2 year "traffic nightmare" to Holland Tunnel
 

The first two years at least is the closure of northbound lanes starting April 12. Traffic will be diverted to 78 East (NJ Turnpike) and the 1 & 9 truck route. Traffic to the Holland Tunnel will be pretty bad. Just a heads up.

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/201..._april_12.html

Are they only going to repair half the Skyway? I'm guessing, when this project is completed, they'll have to close the southbound lanes for similar repairs.

It will FORCE many travelers to EWR to/from NYC on public transportation (which isn't as fast but more economical and better for our planet).

I can't imagine the horrors at Tonnelle Circle as dashboard GPS/navigation systems melt down trying to figure out how to navigate the maze.

My guess is that once they're done repairing half, they'll shift the southbound traffic to the newly repaired lanes so they can repair the other half. That way they only need one diversion/detour plan for the whole project. Hopefully they can repair the whole thing in the 2 years, although I'll bet it takes at least 3.

The additional lane on the turnpike extension opened this week in anticipation of the shutdown.

I am dreading this, but am hopeful that they will lengthen the traffic light at Jersey Ave and people will be able to move through a bit more quickly and into the tunnel.

Short of that, I'm prepared to quit my job if necessary. No, I'm not kidding.

Really?? I thought you telecommuted.

One day a week. But, yes, really, I will resign if my commute is made any longer than it already is.

Would the Turnpike to 495 and the Lincoln Tunnel be a reasonable alternate driving route from EWR to lower Manhattan?

No, that is a nightmare all by itself during rush hour.... The Holland tunnel is not nearly as busy. We tried the Lincoln for about 2 weeks and gave up. It's not quite as bad during the evening though.

Thanks.

Sorry, I was being selfish and thinking about myself :o

My next EWR arrival is at the end of the month; luckily, most (if not all) of my EWR arrivals are on Sunday afternoon/evenings so I don't have to deal with rush hour. I'd be happy to go a little out of my way if it meant not having to deal with any drama trying to get to the Holland.

No need to apologize. You were trying to help ^^

If you can believe it, as a general rule, the Holland is better inbound to NYC during morning rush hour, and often other times too, and the Lincoln is better outbound from NYC during evening rush hour. It's suicide to try to use the Lincoln to NYC in the late afternoon. I made that 2-hour mistake once and won't repeat it.

Unless the Turnpike to the Holland Tunnel is completely jammed, it's unlikely to be quicker to go all the way up to the Lincoln Tunnel and then come all the way back down again.

But if you have a smartphone, fire up Waze or Google Maps when you land and see what route it recommends. Both apps (Waze is owned by Google but has a different interface) do a pretty good job of factoring in current traffic conditions.

The Pulaski Skyway isn't the only route to the Holland Tunnel from EWR. It's the preferred route because it's very direct and toll-free. But aside from the toll, the Turnpike is roughly the same.

Well, knock me over with a feather... I just got an email from the NJ Dept of Transportation advising/reminding me the skyway is closing and offered alternates and links.

I don't know where they got my email address, perhaps tax returns or from when I collected unemployment insurance, but I'm shocked they would send emails, potentially, to everyone in the state.

It won't help matters though. I expect a 4 hour commute to work on Monday :(

I've updated my resume and sent it to all my contacts :)

We'll be heading back into Manhattan late Monday evening via the Holland Tunnel. Hopefully traffic won't be too bad after 10:30pm.:D

Yuck. No access by train?

There is access by train. I would have to get up earlier, and leave home by 6am. Under normal circumstances, because I have to drive 30 minutes to the train, and then take a subway AND walk for about 20-30 minutes, on top of the 1 hour train ride, resigning is the better choice. I will not commute any longer than I do now.