Work is set to begin to resurface Route 27 in both directions from Burnett Street in New Brunswick to north of Bridge Street in Metuchen.
Officials at the state Department of Transportation announced that contractor Joseph M. Sanzari Inc. began preliminary operations last week by installing signage in advance of construction, requiring some lane and shoulder closures.
The $2.9 million project includes milling, paving and re-striping more than four miles of Route 27 from New Brunswick through Highland Park and Edison into Metuchen. Drainage inlet repairs and traffic signal modifications will also be included throughout the project area .
Between Burnett Street in New Brunswick and Woodbridge Avenue/6th Avenue in Highland Park, where Route 27 provides one travel lane in each direction, the work will be accomplished overnight— between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. on weeknights and between 8:30 p.m. and 9 a.m. on weekends — with single-lane closures and alternating traffic patterns.
Between Woodbridge Avenue/6th Avenue in Highland Park and Bridge Street in Metuchen, where Route 27 has two travel lanes in each direction, the work will be accomplished during daytime off-peak travel hours — between 9 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. on weekdays; between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. on weeknights; and between 8:30 p.m. and 9 a.m. on weekends. One travel lane will be maintained in each direction at all times on this stretch of highway.
The project is expected to be complete in January 2012.
The DOT said it will use variable messaging signs to inform motorists of the construction and any traffic pattern changes associated with the project. Motorists are encouraged to check the DOT’s traffic information website, www.511nj.org, for construction updates and real-time travel information.