Closure of South Kearny’s Pennsylvania Avenue coming up this week

Pennsylvania Avenue is scheduled to have one lane closed with alternating traffic next week for the start of the Portway, Fish House Road/Pennsylvania Avenue project in South Kearny.

From 9 a.m. until 3 p.m., Monday, April 22, and continuing daily through Friday, April 26 at the same times, one lane on Fish House Road and Pennsylvania Avenue/CR 659 is scheduled to be closed with alternating traffic between the Wittpenn Bridge and Central Avenue. The closure is necessary for utility work.

The $82.4 million Portway, Fish House Road/ Pennsylvania Avenue (CR 659) project will realign the roadway and reconfigure the intersection of Central and Pennsylvania avenues. Currently, Central Avenue in South Kearny and Fish House Road are two lanes in each direction. Pennsylvania Avenue, which connects the two roads, is one lane each direction with a “T” intersection with Central Avenue at a Railroad grade crossing. The project will create a through-curve with two lanes in each direction for the entire length.

Left turns from Central Avenue northbound to Pennsylvania Avenue westbound will be eliminated with traffic using local streets. A new traffic signal will be installed at 3rd Street and Central Avenue. The at-grade railroad crossing will be reconstructed and shifted approximately 50 feet east of the existing location. The road also will be elevated up to three feet, so it is above the 10-year tidal surge elevation. The project is expected to be completed by fall 2028.

Motorists are encouraged to check NJDOT’s traffic information website www.511nj.org for real-time travel information, and for NJDOT news follow us on Twitter @NewJerseyDOT or on the NJDOT Facebook page.

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Kevin A. Canessa Jr. is the editor of and broadcaster at The Observer, a place where he has served on and off since 2006. He is responsible for the editorial content of the newspaper and website, the production of the e-Newspaper, writing several stories per week (including the weekly editorial), conducting live broadcasts on Facebook Live, including a weekly recap of the news — and much more behind the scenes. Between 2006 and 2008, he introduced the newspaper to its first-ever blog — which included podcasts, audio and video. Originally from Jersey City, Kevin lived in Kearny until 2004, lived in Port St. Lucie. Florida, for four years until February 2016 and in March of that year, he moved back to West Hudson to return to The Observer full time. Click Here to send Kevin an email.