Opponents of the New Jersey Turnpike Authority’s $6.2 billion plan to build two new bridges across Newark Bay argued that one span will do the job and better align with new Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s goals.
Those against the project greeted newly minted Authority Executive Director Kris Kolluri with a call to use their “one bridge” plan instead of building twin bridges that are scheduled to begin construction this year.
About 50 people spoke for and against the plan before the Turnpike Authority board this week.
The opponents, representing various advocacy groups and elected officials in Jersey City and Hudson County, remain skeptical despite a Dec. 19 announcement by then-Gov. Phil Murphy that the turnpike widening between Jersey City and Bayonne was scrapped.
Attorney John Reichman, representing EmpowerNJ and the Turnpike Trap Coalition, said the project should be reexamined and brought in line with the priorities of Sherrill’s new administration, which include reducing the cost of living and efficient and effective government spending.
“We recognize the governor stated the bridge should be replaced. But that does not mean that the bridge should be doubled in size,” Reichman said.
“Building one four or six-lane bridge instead of building two new bridges would accomplish the project’s goals while saving billions of dollars in construction costs (and) reducing air and noise pollution and construction time,” he said.
The current $6.2 billion plan calls for construction of two cabled-stayed bridges across the bay carrying four lanes of traffic each and replacement of the approach structures.
Opponents of the larger plan to widen the turnpike extension between Bayonne and Jersey City, which Murphy scuttled, questioned what happens to traffic from the twin bridges.
They expressed concerns that the proposed four-lane eastbound bridge would create a bottleneck when the highway transitions to the two-lane extension at Exit 14 A in Bayonne. A bottleneck would result in demand for the added lane, they contend.
“There will also be worse traffic on local Jersey City streets. We will be spending $12 billion to make traffic worse,” Reichman said.
Turnpike Authority spokesman Tom Feeney reiterated that the agency evaluated building a single bridge and rejected it. The agency addressed the reasons in the environmental assessment released in October 2023 and in formal responses to public comments made during a June 2025 public hearing in Bayonne, he said.
It was rejected because it would not achieve the minimum level of service or accommodate traffic volumes predicted for 2050, officials said.
Not building four lanes in each direction will continue “imbalances between merging, exiting and through lanes” and existing safety problems where the bridge and eastbound turnpike extension meet, authority officials said.
In its responses to public comments from the hearing, the authority said it is rebuilding and increasing the bridge capacity to improve safety and accommodate the current and future growth of the port facilities, in addition to development in Bayonne, Jersey City and Newark.
Free-flowing traffic on the extension will make it a reliable and preferred travel route and will alleviate traffic on local streets, since drivers end up their seeking to avoid traffic, authority officials said.
There also were representatives from unions and a statewide infrastructure group that spoke in favor of the project. They contend the twin bridges are needed to accommodate additional growth at the port in Bayonne and demand from continued construction of new housing in Jersey City and Bayonne.
Construction on the first bridge is expected to start in spring 2026 and will take eight to 10 years to complete. After the first bridge is opened, the existing 70-year-old bridge will be demolished and a second span constructed in its place.
Reichman said the project’s future will be a test for Sherrill.
“Whether Gov. Sherrill decides to go ahead with the deeply unpopular plan will be an early test of her campaign promises,” Reichman said. “Keeping the existing plan in place will mean it’s business as usual in Trenton.”