Newark, NJ – Friday afternoon commuters are facing a punishing start to the weekend across New Jersey, with multiple crashes, breakdowns, and long delays choking major highways and bridges.
A disabled vehicle at the Holland Tunnel, a fiery car on the Garden State Parkway, and an injury crash on I-80 are among the incidents snarling traffic statewide.
Several key corridors, including I-95, the Parkway, and Turnpike, are seeing delays stretching miles due to volume and scattered disruptions.
As of 2:47 p.m., the Holland Tunnel south tunnel eastbound is down one left lane due to a disabled vehicle on the New York side. Drivers entering from New Jersey should expect backups. Meanwhile, a vehicle fire at Exit 130 on the southbound Garden State Parkway in Woodbridge has closed two right lanes, worsening the Friday volume crush.
In Paterson, an injury crash on I-80 westbound at Exit 60 has closed the right lane and shoulder, contributing to westbound backups that extend to Elmwood Park. In East Orange, a crash on I-280 eastbound at Exit 12 has shut the ramp lane, while in Clark Township, another crash on the northbound Garden State Parkway is blocking the right shoulder.
The George Washington Bridge is bearing the brunt of regional traffic stress, with a disabled tractor-trailer on the eastbound upper level jamming two right lanes on the Trans Manhattan Expressway. Eastbound travel time across the bridge is up to 60 minutes from I-80 to the Alexander Hamilton Bridge.
Further compounding the chaos are two water main breaks — one in Sayreville, which has one lane closed on US 9 southbound, and another on North Service Road near JFK Airport, forcing alternating traffic patterns.
Delays on the Turnpike’s Western Spur stretch four miles southbound between Rutherford and Newark. The Garden State Parkway is slammed southbound from Bloomfield to Clark Township with 14 miles of volume-related backups, and additional delays are building from Paramus to Elmwood Park.
Bridge and tunnel crossings are slow in every direction:
- Lincoln Tunnel: 25-minute delay eastbound from NJ Turnpike Exit 16E
- Holland Tunnel: 15-minute delay westbound to NJ Turnpike 14C and NJ 139
- George Washington Bridge: 60 minutes eastbound on the upper level, 45 minutes on the lower
Shorebound traffic is also creeping along. There’s a five-mile backup on the southbound Garden State Parkway in Toms River and another four-mile delay near Brick Township, as drivers head toward the coast.
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