Temporary Partial Normal Ave. Road Closure

The University Police Department (UPD) recognizes the extreme patience of our community as we work to alleviate traffic congestion, which has significantly improved since early September. There are occasions, however, when certain road work can greatly impact our efforts.

Partial Closure of Normal Avenue

The University was alerted that NJ Transit will begin track repairs on or shortly after Thursday, October 20. During this repair work, the railroad crossing and roadway on Normal Avenue, at the tracks, will be closed in both directions. The closure includes the roadway from the Carlisle Road exit to the Upper Mountain Avenue traffic light. Please Note: Traffic may still make a left turn from Carlisle Road onto Normal Avenue. The Carlisle Road entrance and exit to/from campus will remain accessible.

This will cause delays from the Carlisle/Normal/Valley corridor as well as from Clove Road to Upper Mountain Avenue. To help ease traffic congestion, there will be police control of the area during high peak times. However, we can expect that other areas may see heavier traffic due to this closure.

Closure Time Frame

This is expected to last until Thursday, October 27, but weather may either shorten or delay the time frame of the work.  At this time, we have not heard of any changes to NJ Transit service to the Montclair Heights station, off of Normal Avenue. Train riders are encouraged to check NJ Transit media for any alerts.

Don’t Forget about Route 46/Route 3

In addition to this closure, we are expecting sporadic closures and detours of the area at Route 46/Route 3 and Valley Road, as work progresses in this heavily traveled location. There is a new traffic circle on Valley Road, near the highway overpass. Soon there also will be a traffic light coming online, at the ramps to Route 46E/3E from Valley Road.

The University Police makes every effort to plead the cause of our community, as these projects impact us greatly and timing is everything. However, road work and repairs must proceed. It is our hope that these regional traffic projects, managed by the NJ Department of Transportation and NJ Transit, ultimately benefit our common traffic goals in the end. We could use the break.

UPD will continue to be out there to help get you moving, as best as we possibly can. We learn and adapt with suggestions from our community. Please contact us directly at msupolice@montclair.edu.

Chief Kieran Barrett
Interim Chief of Police