A Few Pictures From This Morning

 The new roadway support is now connected in the center.

 The view from 1st St. and JFK Boulevard.

UPDATE: Port Authority of New York & New Jersey

Port Authority of New York & New Jersey: "The Bayonne Bridge is closed until 7pm Sunday, August 28th. Please plan alternate route."

Bayonne Bridge to be closed this weekend

SILive.com: "The Port Authority will close the bridge Friday at 11:59 p.m., and it will remain closed until Monday at 5 a.m. to accommodate ongoing construction of the "Raise the Roadway" project."

Ten Things You Don’t Know About Shipping |

PONYNJ: "When it comes to commercial shipping, history is being made across the New York/New Jersey region. From raising the Bayonne Bridge to accommodate larger ships to dredging the port harbor to 50 feet to allow adequate draft for the bigger ships coming to call on the East Coast, the local Port Authority ports are busier than ever."

The Bayonne Bridge and the mystery of the missing half-scissors

NY Daily News: "The span Down Under was the now-world famous Sydney Harbor Bridge. Though it opened a little later and was a few feet shorter than its American counterpart, bridge builders on opposite sides of the world decided to celebrate the spans as sister bridges, and commemorate the occasion by using the same pair of shears in both ribbon cuttings. Afterward, the plan was to split the scissors in half and send one part back stateside and let one part stay in Australia, according to the Port Authority blog."

60 Seconds with Michelle Brown, Choose New Jersey, Inc.

BusinessFacilities.com: "While completion of the $1.3 billion project to raise the clearance of the Bayonne Bridge from 150 to 215 feet to accommodate the largest vessels is scheduled for late 2017, there have been a series of infrastructure improvements at the Ports and beyond to ensure New Jersey will be ready for the super-containerships. For example, concurrent to the bridge raising project, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and the Army Corps of Engineers have been working on a $1.6 billion harbor dredging project. The ExpressRail project at Port Newark will double its intermodal capacity to facilitate smooth sea/land connections; roads into and out of the Ports also has been expanded. Additionally, the New Jersey Turnpike Authority has invested $2.3 billion on a widening project that is the largest ongoing roadway project in the Western Hemisphere. The project, which includes approximately 35 miles of road improvements to alleviate potential traffic from the Ports as well as points north and south, is nearing completion."

The Port of Los Angeles gives a lesson in mega ships

WUNC: "New York just passed the halfway mark on its $1.3 billion project to raise the Bayonne Bridge, set to open in 2017. The aim is to attract mega ships, the ones now able to move through the expanded Panama Canal to the East Coast. But making room for these vessels with taller bridges and deeper harbors is just the beginning. The challenges start all over again when a giant ship actually docks."

WATCH Progress On New York Harbor's Bayonne Bridge

gCaptain: "At the moment, the span presents a difficult obstacle to large container ships passing under it on the way to and from Newark Bay. Its clearance of between 151 to 156 feet (46–48 m) above the Kill Van Kull depending on the tide means that today’s largest ships, which can reach 175 feet (53 m) above the waterline, must fold down antenna masts, take on ballast and/or wait for low tide to pass through. The problem will become more serious now that the Panama Canal expansion project allows larger new-Panamax ships through the canal."

Sixth Boro Details 8 | tugster: a waterblog

Sixth Boro Details 8 | tugster: a waterblog: "Crew here work on re-elevating the antenna after clearing the Bayonne Bridge for sea.

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Water falling from Bayonne Bridge prompts noon response

SILive.com: "Police and the FDNY responded to a report of debris falling from the Bayonne Bridge around noon on Monday, but the substance turned out to be water used in the Raise the Roadway Project."

Bayonne Bridge to close overnight, reopen during day this weekend

SILive.com: "The Port Authority will close the bridge at 11:59 p.m. Friday, Aug. 19, and reopen the bridge Saturday at 10 a.m.

The bridge will then close again Saturday at 11:59 p.m. and reopen Sunday at 10 a.m."

Panama Canal Expansion: Challenges for NYNJ

Global Trade Magazine: "The problems for the port of New York and New Jersey, according to BMI, will be how it is going to handle a presumed increase in volumes. The project to raise the Bayonne Bridge, which will allow larger vessels to transit the channels connecting New York Bay with container terminals in Newark and Elizabeth, New Jersey, will not be completed for a year and half."

Bayonne Bridge Update

Hudson TV: "Gertrude Street was closed during part of the second week of August.  A portion of 1st Street will be closed in the very near future. No date is available at this time."

What the bigger Panama Canal means for Australia and international shipping

Lloyd's List Australia - OPINION & ANALYSIS: "This has had its difficulties, such as the raising of the Bayonne Bridge roadway by 20 metres, a US$1.3 billion project due to be completed in late 2017 that is the key to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey’s efforts to attract larger container ships. Extensive and environmentally sensitive dredging is required at a number of East Coast ports to accommodate the larger vessels as well as extending the booms of ship to shore container cranes in order to service the wider container vessels."

Increased Traffic from Expanded Panama Canal Will Be a "Major Challenge" for New York-New Jersey, Says BMI

Ship & Bunker: "However, becoming able to handle this increase in trade volumes will be a major challenge for New York-New Jersey," said BMI, adding: "one of the major obstacles facing the port is the slow progress on a project to raise the Bayonne Bridge, which is not expected to be completed until late 2017."

BMI Research: US East Coast ports & Panama Canal expansion – no short-term benefits

Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide: "One of the major obstacles facing the port is the slow progress on a project to raise the Bayonne Bridge, which is not expected to be completed until late 2017. This project will allow the larger 14,000 TEU vessels which can pass through the expanded Panama Canal to enter the harbour. While investment in infrastructure needed to handle these larger ships has been underway at New York-New Jersey since 2010, numerous delays to the Bayonne Bridge project continue to limit the extent to which the port will be able to receive these vessels. Some major international shipping companies, including AP Moller-Maersk and Hapag Lloyd, have consequently elected not to change their routes, as the inability to access New York-New Jersey with larger ships means they are unable to achieve necessary economies of scale by plying East Coast rather than West Coast routes."

VIDEO: How crews are lifting the Bayonne Bridge’s roadway while keeping its arch in place

Heavy Construction Equipment: "A video report recently posted by SILive.com provides a tour of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey’s $1.3 billion Bayonne Bridge construction project, which began in 2013 and is “Raising the Roadway” without altering the bridge’s existing arch."

At 60 percent complete, Bayonne Bridge construction progressing as planned, Port Authority says

NJ.com: "Asked about the potential impact of another harsh winter, Plate said only an extraordinarily harsh winter could prevent the project from achieving navigational clearance as planned.

"I think we've positioned ourselves well enough...that we're confident we're going to make the end of 2017," he said."

Photo Tour of Bayonne Bridge, August 11, 2016

NJ.com: "The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey gave a tour of the progress being made on the Bayonne Bridge's "Raise the Roadway" project on August 11, 2016."

Last Chance This Year! Hidden Harbor Tour of Port Newark!

Working Harbor Committee: "Our vessel will pass beneath the Bayonne Bridge where a massive infrastructure feat is in progress, giving you a unique and close up view of the roadway raising project."

TX construction crews break ground on nation's longest precast concrete cable bridge

Construction Dive: "The Bayonne Bridge upgrade project is also behind schedule, which means large ships cannot currently access three of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey's largest port terminals. The Skanska USA-led joint venture performing the work on the Bayonne Bridge said it would be late 2017 before the bridge will be able to allow post-Panamax ships through."

Bayonne Bridge to close Friday night, reopen Sunday morning

SILive.com: "The Port Authority will close the bridge Friday at 11:59 p.m. and it will remain closed until Sunday at 8 a.m. to accommodate ongoing construction of the "Raise the Roadway" project."

Construction to raise Bayonne Bridge on track for 2017

News 12 New Jersey: "Construction to raise the Bayonne Bridge is on track to be complete by the end of 2017, according to Port Authority of New York and New Jersey officials."

A few Recent Photos

The east span road supports are about to meet in the middle.

No end to Staten Island Expressway nightmare (commentary)

SILive.com: "Traffic on the expressway got so bad that the Port Authority was forced to cancel the usual construction-related closing of the Bayonne Bridge so drivers had some way to detour around the nightmare. But trust us: A lot of folks coming here from New Jersey just had to turn around and go back home."

Bayonne Bridge: The Case of the Missing Half-Scissor |

PANYNJ: "Today, the Australian half, now paired with another blade, remains on permanent public display at the Stanton Library in North Sydney.  The Bayonne half? It vanished, never to be seen again.  The mystery of how it went missing and where it might possibly be continues to bedevil bridge buffs and Port Authority historians alike.  Its loss wasn’t discovered until 1981, when the Port Authority — preparing to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Bayonne Bridge — wanted to bring the artifact out of retirement. It was nowhere to be found."

How Panama Expansion Affects Supply Chain

SMHL.NEWS|:Authority of New York and New Jersey will spent  $3 to raise the height of the Bayonne Bridge, which connects Staten Island, N.Y. and Bayonne, N.J. This will allow the bigger ships to pass under the bridge so they can get to the docks for loading and unloading. Another $1.6 billion will be spent deepening the harbor and shipping channel."

How US Spies Secured the Hiroshima Uranium

Consortiumnews: "There the uranium was put on Pan American airplanes or on ships, both bound for New York, where it was unloaded and stored on the New York City borough of Staten Island. There the uranium remained until it was ready to be used on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. (The New York site under the Bayonne Bridge still registers radiation levels today high enough for the U.S. government to order a clean-up.)"

Bayonne Bridge to close this weekend for construction

SILive.com: "The Port Authority will close the bridge Friday at 11:59 p.m. and reopen the bridge on Monday at 5 a.m. to accommodate ongoing construction of the "Raise the Roadway" project."

Bayonne Bridge Daily Closing Schedule

City of Bayonne, NJ - Official Website: "Next weekend, the Bayonne Bridge will close at 11:59 pm on Friday, August 5, and will reopen by 5:00 am Monday, August 8."

Watch: Bayonne Bridge 'Raise the Roadway' construction progress

SILive.com: ""One of the interesting things about the Bayonne Bridge is that with most bridges you're concerned primarily with traffic going over the bridge, with the Bayonne Bridge we're just as concerned with traffic that's passing beneath the bridge. ...," said Dennis Stabile, Port Authority program manager, Bayonne Bridge Program."

Bayonne artist donates mural to hang on mayor's office wall

NJ.com: "The top of the mural reads "Bayonne, a Gem of the Hudson" and highlights city landmarks such as the Bayonne Public Library and the Teardrop Memorial at the tip of the former Military Ocean Terminal."

Don't Expect Huge Cargo Surge at U.S. East Coast Ports

Global Trade Magazine: "“The migration of seaborne cargo from the west coast to the east coast will continue to be a steady evolution,” the report concluded. “As it is, the MOL Benefactor is restricted to docking at the GCT Bayonne facility as the raising of the Bayonne Bridge—allowing the larger ships to pass under to reach the inner berths of Elizabeth and Newark—will not be completed until next year.”"

Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno welcomes massive container ship to N.J. port (PHOTOS)

NJ.com: "Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno joins Global Container Terminals USA in welcoming Hyundai Saturn on its maiden call to the Port of New York and New Jersey at GCT Bayonne on Friday, July 29, 2016."