Route 7 Hackensack River Wittpenn Bridge, Contract 4 Jersey City & Kearny, NJ

At the time of contract award this was the second largest project in GHCCI’s renowned history and interestingly enough the first being our Rt.1&9T project in Jersey City, was the first phase of the Rt.7 program and will connect to the new Wittpenn infrastructure. The overall NJDOT Wittpenn Project consist of five separate contracts to replace the existing Rt.7 lift span bridge that was built in 1930. The Rt. 7 bridge spans over the Hackensack River and is a vital corridor extending between Kearny and Jersey City, linking up to Rt. 1&9 in Jersey City. The project also includes reconstructing Fish House Road ramps that provide access for trucking to and from various commerce facilities in the area.

GHCCI’s Contract 4 encompasses the largest footprint of all the contracts. Project construction includes five new bridge structures along with the remaining mainline structure, relocating Fish House Rd and constructing associated new ramps, connecting Rt.7 to Rt. 1&9T mainline, and constructing new ramps to local streets in Jersey City. During the contract tenure, the new lift span structure was completed and became operational in Contract 3, allowing traffic to be shifted over the new span, followed by demolition of the nearly 90-year-old structure to be performed by GHCCI.

A vast array of construction operations was involved beginning with extensive utility relocations, followed by drilled shafts, H-piles, permanent sheeting, extensive ground improvements including several hundred Continuous Flight Augered Columns (CFA’s), load transfer mats, and surcharge with wick drains. Additionally, there were approximately 10 retaining walls (cast-in-place and MSE), numerous sign structures, and over 10 million pounds of structural steel erected. GHCCI also submitted and received approval for two large value engineering changes on the project, including the first use of foam glass aggregate on a transportation project in the Country. According to NJDOT, this lift span is one of the largest in North America and will be a monumental accomplishment for the State of New Jersey. GHCCI will undoubtedly be a large part of that success when the last phase, Contract 4, is completed.