Will Route 17 bottleneck area finally be fixed? It's in NJ's hands now

The next step to improve the bottleneck areas of Route 17 where thousands of motorists battle daily traffic gridlock in Paramus, Rochelle Park and Maywood will be up to the state.

The goal is to alleviate traffic congestion and reduce the number of accidents and air pollution on the highway in the area of Maywood, Rochelle Park and Lodi and on the southbound side in Paramus near the Farview Avenue exit, right before Route 4.

The preliminary engineering phase will begin in 2024 and take about two years, Bergen County Engineer Joe Femia said.

This phase will be led by the state Department of Transportation.

First step in fixing Route 17

During the preliminary engineering phase, enhanced map surveys will be conducted to find the exact locations of utilities and property lines. Surveys will be brought to design-level quality and look at the structural footprints of the bridges involved and the roadway geometry, Femia said.

"You won't be blown away by what you can see, but they will be in the field doing a lot of investigative work," Femia said. "These are major, major, important steps in the progress."

In the last 20 years, this is the most any plan to improve the trouble area has advanced. The stretch of highway is used by thousands of motorists daily and tractor-trailers that carry billions of dollars in commerce yearly.

The new funding, combined with the fact that bridges in the area are nearing the century mark in age and need significant repairs, has helped the plan advance to this stage.

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"These are two major accomplishments," Femia said. "Being on the verge of the preliminary design phase and having funding programmed, the project has never gotten this far before."

The state Transportation Improvement Program approved $338.5 million for the project in September by the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority. That money will go toward the upcoming design phases, Femia said.

Bergen County officials said that although the project is out of their hands for now, they will continue to support it.

"The county executive will continue to champion the project and do everything in our power to continue to advance it," said Derek Sands, deputy chief of staff for County Executive Jim Tedesco. "We will keep everyone's eyes on the ball with advocacy and continue to work with the DOT and governor's office."

Old bridges help highway's cause

Officials are also optimistic there will be traction this time because of the condition of the five bridges along the highway that are nearing the end of their lifespan.

The five bridges in the study area are the Susquehanna Railroad spur, Susquehanna Railroad, Central Avenue, Passaic Street and Pleasant Avenue.

An analysis from 2017 to 2019 found that there were 899 crashes in this section of the Route 17 bottleneck project. That's about one crash per day, requiring continuous emergency responses, and is greater than the statewide average for similar roadways.

To improve traffic and safety, a third lane will be added in each direction with standard width inside and with outside shoulders provided where feasible. Standard acceleration and deceleration lanes will be provided for ramp connections at Passaic Street, Pleasant Avenue and Farview Avenue. There will be new Route 17 bridges over the NYS&W Railroad, Central Avenue, Passaic Street and Pleasant Avenue.

Proposed Route 17 improvements

Improvements called for in the latest plan include:

• An additional (third) travel lane with a 12-foot-wide outside shoulder and a 3-foot minimum inside shoulder in both directions.

• Replacement of six bridges with four new bridges and more than a mile of retaining walls.

• A new Route 17 southbound exit ramp to Central Avenue.

• Modified Route 17 northbound exit and entrance ramps at Mildred Avenue.

• A new signalized intersection at Farview Avenue and the Route 17 southbound exit and entrance ramps.

• A new signalized intersection at Passaic Street and the Route 17 northbound exit ramp.

• Complex utility relocations including gas, electric and communications.

• New stormwater management basins.

• Local street connectivity improvements.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Will Route 17 bottleneck area finally be fixed? It's in NJ's hands now