Traffic, Transit And Security Changes In NY, NJ For Super Bowl Weekend
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Super Bowl weekend is here and that means thousands of more visitors are making their way into the Tri-State area for the big game.
Whether you are in New York or New Jersey, going to the game or not, there are road closures, mass transit changes and tighter security that is likely to affect you.
Federal and local authorities have heightened security, even though there have been no specific terror threats against the Super Bowl.
Trains, buses and cars taking fans from New York and parts of New Jersey to the stadium and back again "are going to be scanned, they're going to be checked, they're going to be swept,'' said Col. Rick Fuentes, head of the New Jersey State Police.
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Roughly 80,000 fans are expected to pack MetLife Stadium on game day.
Most fans will be relying on mass transit to get there. Officials have issued only 12,000 parking passes and taxi's wont be allowed near the stadium.
The Transportation Security Administration will be screening all bags for explosives at the Secaucus Junction Station before passengers are permitted on trains for MetLife Stadium.
"Dress warm, bring the ticket and do travel light. Do not bring packages," NJ TRANSIT Chief of Police Christopher Trucillo said.
Ramped Up Security Will Be In Place At Secaucus Junction On Super Bowl Sunday
TSA officers also will be using radiological detection devices.
"We did a drill a couple weeks ago. Most of the passengers transitioning the station didn't even realize it," TSA Special Agent John Durkin said. "There's not going to be pat-downs. There's not going to be magnetometers or gas imaging technology like you see at an airport."
Bomb-sniffing dogs, radiation detection devices and dozens of cops will be stationed at Secaucus Junction on Sunday.
Ramped Up Security Will Be In Place At Secaucus Junction On Super Bowl Sunday
NJ TRANSIT is offering expanded bus and rail service. For more information, click here.
Amtrak will be making special pre- and post-game stops in Secaucus, where you'll be able to transfer to MetLife-bound NJ TRANSIT trains.
A Super Bowl shuttle will run from Secaucus Junction to MetLife Stadium beginning at 1:40 p.m. Sunday.
Those boarding will have to show their game ticket, go through security screening and adhere to the NFL bag policy which permits only clear plastic bags and small clutches.
Officials anticipate 15,000 passengers will ride trains between Secaucus and the stadium. Passengers are advised to allow extra time because of the screening.
On the roads, highways surrounding the stadium will be open through game day, but drivers should expect extensive traffic congestion.
The state police plan to assign up to 700 troopers at the stadium on Sunday, Fuentes said.
There will be vehicle checkpoints as well as explosive sniffing K-9 units and Homeland Security agents with radiation detection backpacks.
New York state police will also be watching out for drunk and distracted drivers over the Super Bowl weekend. The statewide crackdown on DWI and texting-while-driving violators starts Friday and runs through Monday.
In New York City, the 13-block stretch now known as Super Bowl Boulevard means Broadway is closed between 34th and 47th streets through the weekend. Some adjacent side streets are closed as well.
In the air, Black Hawk helicopters will be patrolling the no-fly-zone above MetLife Stadium on game day.
Early Wednesday morning, the U.S. Air Force conducted military exercises over the Hudson River in the Bronx and lower Westchester in preparation for the Super Bowl.
"At 4:30 in the morning, if you had been up, you would have seen a couple of military jets, F-15s, streaking across the skies of New York City chasing a plane. They actually drill this when everybody's asleep so nobody sees anything that would alarm them in broad daylight," NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Intelligence John Miller told "CBS This Morning." "If an aircraft violated the no-fly zone around the stadium, how would they interdict it and so on, it's built into the plan."
U.S. Customs and Border protection agents are also armed and ready to intercept any air traffic that breaches the perimeter.
For additional information about events, traffic, transit, security and more, click here.
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