Route 533 Area to be Closed for Railroad Work

A portion of Route 533 in Bridgewater will be closed for about three days while the New Jersey Department of Transportation performs rehabilitation work on the Norfolk Southern freight railroad grade crossing.

According to a release from the NJDOT, Route 533 (Main Street) will be closed to traffic at the railroad crossing, just west of Chimney Rock Road.

It will be closed from 7 a.m. Tuesday to about 7 p.m. Thursday. The road will be opened earlier if the work is finished earlier.

Motorists traveling east will be detoured to use Pearl Street to Route 28 east to Foothill Road.

Those driving west will be detoured on Foothill Road to Route 28 west to Pearl Street.

The release said access will be maintained to residential properties and businesses on both sides of the rail line.

The work is being done to create a safer and smoother railroad crossing, the release said, and the freight rail contractor is replacing the existing crossing with a new concrete one. The contractor will also repave the asphalt approaches.

The project, the release said, is included in the NJDOT's railroad grade-crossing safety program that includes repairs, upgrades or removes about 30 crossings each year throughout the state.

The timing of the work is of course subject to change due to weather.