Construction was scheduled to begin in the summer of 2011, said New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) spokesman Tim Greeley. However a lack of funding could jeopardize those plans.

Currently the project is in the final "preliminary design" stages, Greeley said, where environmental, utility and Right of Way impacts are assessed.

The $158 million project was intended to improve traffic flow in the junction, which sees an average of 100,000 vehicles daily. Two major highways merge into one heading west and split into two going east.

Route 46 east splits near Valley Road where the left lanes remain Route 46 east and the right lanes become Route 3 east. The Valley Road exit is right before the Route 3 split. The two highways merge into one in the same area heading west, causing traffic backups especially during rush-hour.

Adding to the traffic woes in the area are Rifle Camp Road and Notch Road, also heavily used roads. Plans listed on the DOT’s Web site include additional acceleration and deceleration lanes as well as improved shoulders and new on-ramps and off-ramps at the interchanges.

DOT officials are trying to find the resources to fund the project as they scramble to find funding for other major capital projects including the proposed Hudson River tunnel.

Greeley said the State could not continue to fund the Route 3/Route 46 project based on a shortfall in revenue. Greeley also confirmed that the DOT is involved in ongoing discussions with the Federal Highway Administration regarding the potential pay back of funds already spent on the project. To date, $2.8 million in federal funds have been spent on design work for the project.

"NJDOT would move forward with this project if funds become available," Greeley said.

The total cost for construction is estimated at $140 million, he said.

The NJDOT is currently completing work on six areas of Route 46, including the Van Houten Avenue/Grove Street interchange in Clifton, at a cost of $195 million. Some of the Van Houten Avenue and Grove Street ramps from Route 46 were recently opened. The project will be completed in June, NJDOT officials said. The ramp work in Clifton cost $18.5 million. This past January the Van Houten Avenue bridge opened to traffic after major work. The bridge cost an estimated $30 million.

Other Route 46 work was completed or in the process of being completed at the Browertown Road interchange in Little Falls and West Paterson, the Peckman River Bridge in Little Falls, the Union Boulevard area in Totowa, the routes 23/80 interchange in Wayne and the Fairfield Road/Two Bridges Road in Fairfield.