His wife, Victory Chase, was stuck in traffic at an alternate crossing as she returned home on a recent evening after volunteering at a library.

“It took me an hour to do something that takes less than 10 minutes normally,” Ms. Chase said.

Stephen Schapiro, a spokesman for the state’s Transportation Department, said officials had developed the detour with local communities before the project began and that the Route 518 bridge would have been closed this week even if a shutdown had not been ordered. Since work on the bridge had already started, it was no longer safe for traffic, Mr. Schapiro said.

Down the block from the Route 518 crossing, Barry M. Gerlack, the owner of a travel business, said he was furious with Mr. Christie over the impasse. Not only is his commuting longer, but a pizza deliveryman recently called him frantically asking for detour directions in the hopes of keeping a pie hot.

“We have our own Bridgegate here — it’s unbelievable,” he said.

A deal over transportation financing appeared near last month, but Mr. Christie and Democratic leaders in the State Senate could not agree over which tax cuts to pair with a 23-cent increase in the gas tax. On Monday, Mr. Christie told reporters in Cleveland that he had rejected a new financing proposal from Stephen M. Sweeney, a Democrat and president of the State Senate, and would meet with Mr. Sweeney after the convention. Mr. Sweeney’s office said that Mr. Christie had not offered his own counterproposal.

Since Mr. Christie ordered the shutdown, he has been preoccupied with a series of political setbacks. Last week, David Samson, his longtime friend, pleaded guilty to using his position as chairman of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey for his personal benefit. A day later, Mr. Christie was passed over to serve as Donald J. Trump’s running mate.

At the Morris Avenue bridge in Summit, residents complained of rerouted traffic filling quiet neighborhoods with the sounds of revving engines and honking horns. On Monday afternoon, a group of teenagers walked down the sidewalk as they sought a way around the closed bridge.