Parsons Corporation announced that the New Jersey Turnpike Authority selected the company to serve as final designer for the replacement of the Vincent Robert Casciano Bridge, known as the Newark Bay Bridge. The final design is the first final design contract of the Newark Bay-Hudson County Extension Improvements Program, a critical modernization and safety program that will rebuild the 8.1-mile NJ Turnpike Extension from Interchange 14 in Newark to Jersey Avenue in Jersey City. This replacement is the Turnpike Authority's highest priority, given the condition of the nearly 70-year-old structure, which is at the end of its life.

Parsons is leading the design effort from Newark, NJ office. The replacement of the Newark Bay Bridge represents a significant portion of the Program's first project, which will reconstruct the Extension between Interchange 14 in Newark and Interchange 14A in Bayonne and Jersey City. To mitigate impacts on drivers, the surrounding communities, and the environment, there will be a phased strategy to replace the Newark Bay Bridge that will not increase traffic congestion.

A new cable-stayed bridge will be built alongside the existing Newark Bay Bridge, during which time the existing bridge will remain operational. Once the new bridge is completed, the existing bridge will be demolished, and another new cable-stays bridge will be built in its place. The two new cable-stayed bridges will increase safety and capacity by providing four lanes of traffic in both the eastbound and westbound directions.

New structures will feature long in-water approaches and parallel 800 ft. long cable-stayed bridges. Adjacent to Newark Liberty International Airport, the towers will be height-limited, like the recently completed Goethals Bridge Replacement Project, several miles south of the Newark Bay Bridge, for which Parsons also served as lead designer.

The new crossing will feature a 150-year service life, aesthetic lighting, and infrastructure technologies.