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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 19, 2025
Contact: Tyler Jones
Press Office: Governor's Office
Email: Tyler.Jones@nj.gov
Governor Murphy, New Jersey Turnpike Authority Board Chair O’Connor Announce Changes to the Newark Bay-Hudson County Extension Improvements Program
Elimination of New Travel Lanes Between Interchanges 14A and 14C
New Ramps Will Provide a Direct Connection From Interchange 14A to Port Facilities in Bayonne and Jersey City – Reducing the Mixing of Trucks Traveling to and From the Port with Local Traffic Within the Interchange
Changes to Save Approximately $500 Million Off the Total Cost of the Projects – Enabling Infrastructure Investments Elsewhere in Hudson and Essex Counties
No City, County, State, or Federal Tax Dollars Are Utilized to Fund This Program
TRENTON – Governor Murphy and New Jersey Turnpike Authority Board Chair O’Connor today announced that the Newark Bay-Hudson County Extension Improvements Program will be revised to eliminate new travel lanes east of Interchange 14A and provide a direct connection from the Turnpike Extension to port facilities in Bayonne and Jersey City. The changes to the projects are anticipated to save approximately $500 million in total costs to the program.
“The Newark Bay-Hudson County Extension Improvements Program is a critical investment in our regional infrastructure that expands access to our ports and airport while keeping up with the pace of residential and commercial development in Jersey City, Bayonne, and Newark,” said Governor Murphy. “The communities adjacent to the Turnpike Extension are growing quickly and our ports are taking on a higher and higher volume of cargo and work. After considerable review, we have re-envisioned the projects within the broader program and found a way to make this great investment even better for our residents, infrastructure, and economy.”
“After careful review, we saw an opportunity to move truck traffic quickly and safely into and out of the port and reduce the congestion on the bridge and local streets in Bayonne," said New Jersey Department of Transportation Commissioner Fran O’Connor, who serves as Chair of the New Jersey Turnpike Authority Board of Commissioners. “Whether you’re driving a truck carrying freight to the port or an SUV carrying your kids to soccer practice, if you use Interchange 14A, you will benefit from this change.”
Opened in 1956, the Newark Bay-Hudson County Extension is an 8.1-mile stretch of critical transportation infrastructure from Interchange 14 in Newark to the Jersey Avenue intersection in Jersey City – serving as an official evacuation route and consisting primarily of 29 bridges. The Improvements Program is comprised of multiple independent projects that aim to improve safety and sustainability, relieve traffic congestion and its harmful impacts, accommodate the current and future growth of the adjacent communities and the ports, and address the anticipated impacts of climate change.
The first project includes the full replacement of the roadway, ramps, and bridges on the western half of the Extension between the main line of the Turnpike at Interchange 14 in Newark and Interchange 14A in Bayonne and Jersey City. The project includes the replacement of the Vincent R. Casciano Bridge over Newark Bay with twin cable-stayed bridges. The new roadway and structures will accommodate four lanes of traffic in each direction to reduce congestion and improve operations. The Coast Guard issued a Finding of No Significant Impact in May 2025 for the first project and the Turnpike Authority has secured all necessary permits, with construction scheduled to begin in 2026. The first project will not be altered in any way by the revisions announced today.
The original proposal called for adding one travel lane in each direction between Interchanges 14A and 14C. Those additional lanes will no longer be built.
Some of the money saved by eliminating the additional travel lanes will be used to build the new ramps connecting Interchange 14A to the ports. Those improvements will be designated as Project 2A. The ramps that will be built under Project 2A are expected to reduce the mixing of trucks traveling to and from the port with local traffic within the interchange.
Additional savings from the re-envisioned future projects will enable the Turnpike Authority to invest in other infrastructure in Hudson and Essex Counties – including the Western Spur, Harry Laderman Bridge, and Bayview Avenue Bridge at Interchange 14B.
“The revisions we’re announcing today will not increase the overall cost of the program,” said New Jersey Turnpike Authority Executive Director James Carone. “The Turnpike Authority will be able to spread the savings around to Project 2A and other critical infrastructure improvements in the region.”
“The announcement of a redesigned Newark Bay-Hudson County Extension Improvements Program is a major positive development that incorporates the changes we called for when this project was first announced two years ago – addressing concerns surrounding the lane extensions and the inclusion of a dedicated ramp for trucks heading to our ports,” said Congressman Rob Menendez. “I am proud to support this new and improved project and I am grateful to our partners in state, county, and local government, and in labor for working to achieve these changes that will deliver necessary infrastructure improvements while creating good-paying union jobs.”
“I sincerely thank Governor Murphy and Department of Transportation Commissioner O’Connor for finding a compromise reflecting the importance of addressing the Jersey City community's concerns while continuing to invest in critical infrastructure,” said Hudson County Executive Craig Guy. “I will continue to work with all stakeholders to ensure transportation improvements move forward responsibly, protect good paying union jobs, and respect the quality of life of our residents.”
“I'm happy that Governor Murphy and the Turnpike Authority listened to the residents who use Interchange 14A," said Bayonne Mayor and Hudson County Sheriff-elect Jimmy Davis. "The new ramps will give trucks direct access to the port facilities and keep them out of Interchange 14A. That means that the passenger vehicles that use the interchange to get into and out of Bayonne and Jersey City will no longer be in conflict with those big trucks. That will reduce congestion and provide a less stressful trip for people driving through the interchange."
“I greatly appreciate Governor Murphy and the Turnpike Authority for listening to the concerns made by community members and taking meaningful action,” said Senator Brian P. Stack (D-33), Mayor of Union City. “By rethinking the expansion east of Interchange 14A and focusing on smarter connections to the port, the state is delivering a more balanced and effective project for Hudson County.”
“Between concerns about induced demand, climate impact, and traffic impacts on the Jersey City and Hoboken communities, I have long opposed the Turnpike expansion as previously proposed and am so deeply appreciative to the Governor and DOT Commissioner for keeping an open mind,” said Senator Raj Mukherji (NJ-32), Vice Chair of the Senate Transportation Committee. “The reconfiguration of the plan to abandon the widening beyond the Bayonne exit is a welcome change that underscores this administration’s respect for urban communities and their ability to balance competing interests.”
“These changes strengthen our infrastructure while keeping community well-being front and center and delivering significant cost savings,” said Senator Angela V. McKnight (D-Hudson). “Streamlining the flow of truck and local traffic at Interchange 14A with these new ramps will reduce congestion, improve safety for drivers, and make port operations more efficient. This is a great compromise that will allow us to make additional infrastructure upgrades across Hudson and Essex counties, and I thank the Turnpike Authority for listening to the people as they reimagine travel throughout our region.”
“The savings from these changes to future projects in the program are going to be invested back into important capital improvements right here in Essex and Hudson Counties like the new ramps in Bayonne, the new Bayview Avenue Bridge, the Harry Laderman Bridge, and the Western Spur,” said William Sproule, Executive Secretary-Treasurer for the Eastern Atlantic State Regional Council of Carpenters. “If you work here or drive here or even just pass through here, these changes should be welcome news for you.”
"These are smart, strategic, well-thought-out revisions being made to the Newark Bay-Hudson County Extension Improvements Program,” said Patrick Kellaher, President of the Hudson County Building & Construction Trades. “The critical work of replacing the deteriorating Newark Bay Bridge and relieving congestion between Interchanges 14 and 14A will go ahead as planned. Union labor is ready and able to do that work and anxious to get started. By scaling back some of the future projects in the program east of 14A, the Turnpike Authority will save money that will be used for other vital infrastructure improvements in our region. In the Newark Bay-Hudson County Extension corridor and beyond, the capital investments the Turnpike Authority has planned will be a source of family-supporting jobs for a generation of union labor.”
"Work worth doing is work worth doing right,” said Greg Lalevee, Business Manager for the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 825. “The Newark Bay-Hudson County Extension Improvements Program offers a generational opportunity to invest in infrastructure in Hudson and Essex counties. I applaud the Governor and the Turnpike Authority for not putting their pencils down as construction on Project 1 approached and for continuing to improve the plans for future projects in the program."
“The Newark Bay-Hudson County Extension Improvements Program will be a source of good union jobs for New Jerseyans for the next 20 years,” said Mike Hellstrom Jr., LIUNA Vice President and Eastern Regional Manager. “The first project alone is expected to generate $2.8 billion in economic activity and create more than 25,000 jobs totaling $2 billion in earned income. New Jersey workers and their families can count on the future projects in the program to have similar impacts.”
“The Newark Bay-Hudson County Extension Improvements Program will make the Turnpike Extension safer, reduce traffic congestion, and replace bridges that have reached the end of their useful lives,” said David Rible, Executive Director of the Utility & Transportation Contractors Association. “The program is the kind of infrastructure improvement every New Jerseyan should get behind. With the revisions being announced today, a great program is getting even better."
“The volume of large trucks using Interchange 14A to travel between the Turnpike Extension and the ports can be a challenge for all drivers who use that interchange, whether they’re in a truck or the family sedan,” said Joe Fiordaliso, President of the American Council of Engineering Companies of New Jersey. “The revised plans for future projects in the Newark Bay-Hudson County Improvements Program offers a smart solution to that problem – a new set of ramps that will separate car and truck traffic inside the interchange. This is an important improvement that will be made without adding to the overall cost of the program.”
"The Alliance for Action has been a strong supporter of this program because of the jobs it will create during construction and the jobs it will sustain into the future by providing safe, reliable access to the port and airport,” said Jerry Keenan, President of the New Jersey Alliance for Action. “The revised plan will spread the benefits of this program around even further than originally envisioned. The money saved by scaling back some of the improvements east of Interchange 14A will allow the Turnpike Authority to invest in other important capital projects, like the ramps providing a direct connection for trucks from Interchange 14A to the port. This program, with these important revisions, is a win for everyone who has a stake in the future of New Jersey's transportation infrastructure."
The Turnpike Authority held four public information forums and a public hearing to present the first project to the public. Similar events will be scheduled for Project 2A and other future projects in the program.
Construction of the first project is expected to last 10 years. The existing Newark Bay Bridge will remain in service until 2031 while one of the new cable-stayed bridges is built alongside it to the north. When that span is complete, all traffic will be shifted onto the new bridge and the existing bridge will be demolished. When the second cable-stayed bridge is completed, traffic will shift into its permanent configuration with four eastbound lanes on one bridge and four westbound lanes on the other.
To learn more about the Newark Bay-Hudson County Extension Improvements Program, please visit www.NBHCE.com.
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