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The northbound lanes toward New York on the Pulaski Skyway will be closed for two years beginning April 12 as part of a major rehabilitation of the famed bridge.

(John Munson/The Star-Ledger)

On the eve of Halloween in 1938, a report of a Martian space vehicle straddling the Pulaski Skyway panicked radio listeners, unaware that they had tuned into a broadcast of the fictional "War of the Worlds."

For New Jersey motorists, a real-life event starting April 12 on the skyway will have more terrifying consequences.

The historic but decaying 82-year-old bridge that stretches from Newark to Jersey City will be closed northbound toward New York for up to two years while it undergoes a major rehabilitation.

The southbound lanes from New York to New Jersey will remain open during those 24 months.

Motorists have already dubbed it "carmageddon," and the state’s top transportation official said he is getting very little sleep over the prospects of having to detour 34,000 vehicles a day.

"It’s not easy, but there’s no choice," state Transportation Commissioner Jim Simpson said. "There was no way this could be done without closing it. The patient is very sick — and needs rehabilitation."

Erected during the Great Depression and named after Revolutionary War General Casimir Pulaski, the 3½-mile long steel truss skyway is the most famous New Jersey bridge entirely within state borders.

During the opening credits of "The Sopranos," the gritty black structure provides a key background scene as cigar-smoking mob boss Tony Soprano navigates the roads of North Jersey amid the song lyrics: "Born under a bad sign, with a blue moon in your eyes."

The engineering marvel spans across the Passaic and Hackensack rivers.

The $1 billion rehabilitation project, which will replace the entire riding surface of the skyway along with beams that support the bridge deck, is expected to extend the life of the structure by another 75 years.

TRAVEL ALTERNATIVES

Travel alternatives during the Pulaski Skyway shutdown include:

• The New Jersey Turnpike extension on Interstate 78 East in Hudson County. The shoulder will be opened as a third lane during the peak traveling hours of 6 to 10 a.m. and 3 to 7 p.m. That is expected to accommodate an extra 1,900 vehicles per hour.

• The 1&9 truck route. The ramp from Route 1&9 to the Route 1&9 truck lanes will be widened from one to two lanes. The truck route is expected to accommodate about 700 vehicles per hour.

• Route 22 bus service, beginning at the Sears park-and-ride lot in Watchung and ending at Newark Penn Station during peak hours. The No. 95 bus will travel on Mountain and Morris avenues, adding 330 seats during each travel period.

• NJ Transit trains. There will be increased frequency or seating capacity on the Morris and Essex, Raritan Valley and North Jersey Coast lines, including morning and evening rush hour train trips between Summit and Hoboken Terminal and between Bay Head and Hoboken.

• The PATH. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which increased the frequency of PATH departures from Newark Penn Station for the Super Bowl, will continue at the same level during the skyway rehabilitation, providing an additional 5,000 seats in the morning peak period.

The DOT is negotiating with a property owner in Newark to secure a park-and-ride lot off Route 1&9 South, across from Newark Liberty International Airport. That would allow buses to take 650 customers to Grove Street and Exchange Place in Jersey City.

The DOT also is urging vanpooling and carpooling, and calling on employers to allow employees to work from home, when possible, or start their shifts outside of the peak travel hours.

Signals are being changed on some of the surrounding roads to allow longer green light times.

Dan Dowling lives in Hoboken and has been traveling the skyway for about seven years.

"I use it daily, so this is kind of nerve-wracking to try and find an alternative, but I think there are some alternatives out there," he said. "I think I’m gong to start with the Turnpike extension, see how that goes. Unfortunately, tolls aren’t going to be reduced, which kind of hurts me, because they’re going to be gaining a lot of money and I’m going to be losing money. Plus, I’m going to be going a little bit more out of my way, a couple more miles, and gas isn’t going down, either."

During peak hours, the toll is $2.45 to travel the length of the Turnpike extension between exits 14 and 14C.

Dowling agrees that repairs are needed on the skyway.

"I’ve had friends that get tires popped every other week," he said. "I’ve traveled on there for so long that I’ve seen everything. I’ve seen a goat run across."

Janna Chernetz, New Jersey advocate for the Tri-State Transportation Campaign, a regional transportation policy watchdog group, is bracing for a potential traffic nightmare during the skyway shutdown.

"There’s no incentive for people to carpool. Traffic mitigation tools like temporary HOV lanes and single-occupancy vehicle bans during peak hours are not even being considered," she said. "They are expecting already-congested roadways such as the Turnpike and Route 1&9 Truck to absorb an additional 1,900 and 700 vehicles, respectively. This is only going to further exacerbate an already grueling commute."

As part of the project, the deteriorating concrete Route 139 Hoboken and Conrail viaducts will be rehabilitated by AECOM.

Tony DeJohn, project director for Parsons Brinckerhoff, which is leading the design for the Pulaski deck placement project, said all options were looked at for the rehabilitation project schedule, including doing the construction overnight and on weekends or having one lane of travel in each direction.

Doing the work on nights and weekends, he said, would have taken more than six years.

"Also, because each night we’re pulling out a deck slab, there’s a possibility that we pull out one of those deck slabs, it might not be that easy to replace," DeJohn said. "There may be something we find — a steel problem or a connection problem or something doesn’t go right. And if you can’t get that roadway reopened each morning, you’re causing a problem. And it’s an unexpected problem, as opposed to something you know which you can plan for."

If the skyway kept open one lane in each direction, a median barrier would have to be placed between already narrow lanes.

"It would create basically a 3½-mile-long cattle chute, which would provide problems if we had to get to a vehicle during an emergency situation," DeJohn said. "Because of that, it really wasn’t a viable option."

Transportation Commissioner Simpson admitted that while the DOT is doing everything possible to mitigate problems, "This is not going to be easy."

"It’s going to be very difficult," he said. "Particularly the first two to three weeks, people are going to find their way."

For updates, visit the project website (www.pulaski skyway.com) or Twitter page (@skywayrehab) or call the project hotline at (973) 776-7400.

RELATED COVERAGE

• Pulaski Skyway shutdown: Turnpike Extension shoulder becomes extra travel lane Monday

• Commuter nightmare: Pulaski Skyway repairs will force alternate route to NYC for 2 years

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