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A Newark Liberty International Airport runway that has been closed for construction, adding to widespread delays and cancellations, will reopen nearly two weeks ahead of schedule.

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey announced the updated timeline Friday, saying the runway will reopen 13 days early, allowing normal runway operations to resume on Monday, June 2.

"Thank you to the Port Authority for their partnership and hard work in getting Newark's runway rebuilt ahead of schedule. Great job!" U.S Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy said in a statement. "As we approach the busy summer travel season, this key milestone puts us on a path to further reducing congestion, enhancing safety, and ensuring a seamless travel experience. With the runway completed, we'll continue our work to harden the telecoms infrastructure and improving the staffing pipeline for the airspace."

"I commend the crews who have worked tirelessly to get this critical project done ahead of schedule," Murphy added. "I'm grateful for New Jersey's partnership with the Port Authority and the FAA as we work to return to full capacity at Newark Airport. New Jersey will do all we can to support plans from the USDOT to invest in modernizing our air traffic control system and fully staffing our air traffic controllers."

FAA expected to increase Newark Airport capacity after runway construction

The runway construction has been partly to blame for the issues plaguing Newark Airport this month, along with air traffic controller staffing and equipment issues. The Federal Aviation Administration has slowed the number of flights at the airport, but said it plans to add more capacity once the construction is complete.

Officials say the $121 million construction project started in early March with runway closures on nights and weekends. The full 24/7 shutdown began on April 15 and was originally scheduled to finish on June 15.

Runway 4L-22R was last rehabilitated in 2014 and was showing significant signs of wear, officials say. The construction project involves milling and paving the runway surface, improving lighting, signage and draining, and installing electrical infrastructure underground.

Officials say the construction will continue on nights and weekends from September through December. The other two runways, 4R-22L and 11-29, will still be available during those periods.

Duffy said earlier this week he also expects the FAA to activate a new fiber line to improve air traffic controller communication by the start of July.

Renee Anderson

Renee Anderson is a digital producer at CBS New York, where she covers breaking news and other local stories. Before joining the team in 2016, Renee worked at WMUR-TV.

The Vatican announced today that Pope Leo XIV has appointed Rev. Pedro Bismarck Chau as a new auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Newark, while accepting the resignation of Bishop Gregory J. Studerus.

Bishop-elect Chau, 57, currently serves as rector of the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark. Born in Managua, Nicaragua, in 1967, he brings a “diverse background” to his new role, including fluency in English, Spanish and American Sign Language.

“His deep faith, considerable pastoral experience and love for the people of God will be a great blessing to our local Church,” said Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin, Archbishop of Newark, in a statement welcoming the appointment.

Chau holds degrees from Seton Hall University, including a bachelor’s in psychology and a master’s in professional counseling. He also earned theology and pastoral ministry degrees from Immaculate Conception Seminary School of Theology before his 2008 ordination.

His pastoral experience spans parishes, youth ministry, campus ministry, and chaplaincy to the deaf. He has also served on the Priest Personnel Board and Council of Priests.

Bishop Studerus, 77, was appointed by Pope Francis in February 2020 and ordained that June. Despite stepping down from his official role, he will remain active in the archdiocese’s pastoral life.

Cardinal Tobin expressed gratitude for Studerus’s service, noting his “pastoral heart, wisdom and humble dedication have made a lasting impact on our local Church.”

As auxiliary bishop, Chau will oversee Hudson County parishes and Catholic institutions previously under Studerus’s care. He joins Auxiliary Bishops Manuel A. Cruz, Michael A. Saporito, and Elias R. Lorenzo in serving the archdiocese’s 1.3 million Catholics.

Chau’s Episcopal Ordination Mass is scheduled for Septe.r 8, at the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart, with Cardinal Tobin as principal celebrant.

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Submit Essex County community news to essex@njadvancemedia.com. Questions about this post may be directed to Linda O’Brien at lobrien@njadvancemedia.com or Stephanie Loder sloder@njadvancemedia.com.

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Generative AI was used to produce an initial draft of this story, which was reviewed and edited by NJ Advance Media staff.

NEWARK, NJ — Travelers at Newark Airport in New Jersey are expected to get some relief on June 2 when a major runway construction project crosses the finish line, officials say.

For the past few weeks, passengers at the busy airport have been pulling their hair out over a series of cancellations and delays. Federal officials recently ordered Newark Airport to limit its daily number of flights until things improve.

A lack of air traffic controllers and antiquated, malfunction-prone equipment are being blamed for many of the problems. Other factors that are adding to the chaos include ongoing runway construction and passenger totals that are among the highest in the airport’s history.

U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy has repeatedly said that it is safe to fly in and out of Newark Airport. However, things need to change, Duffy has added.

Find out what's happening in Newarkfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

“We have to fix this, because what you see in Newark is going to happen in other places across the country,” he recently asserted.

The transportation secretary gave an update on the situation Wednesday, noting that one of the three major issues behind the delays – runway construction – is expected to end on June 15, and possibly even earlier.

“The Port Authority [of New York and New Jersey] has done an amazing job,” he said. “They were working seven days a week, 16 to 18-hours a day, to finish this runway. The concrete has been laid – I think they’re just striping right now.”

On Friday afternoon, Gov. Phil Murphy confirmed that the runway construction is proceeding ahead of schedule.

According to Murphy, regular runway operations will resume on June 2 – nearly two weeks earlier than expected.

“I commend the crews who have worked tirelessly to get this critical project done ahead of schedule,” Murphy said.

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Port Authority officials recently noted that runway rehabilitation work may impact flight schedules through mid-June at Newark Airport.

According to an advisory from the bi-state agency:

“From April 15, 2025 to mid-June 2025, Runway 4L-22R will be fully closed for rehabilitation work as part of a $121 million rehabilitation project. This work is designed to maintain the runway in a state of good repair, improve its infrastructure, meet the latest FAA standards, and ensure its continued safe operation. To minimize operational impacts during this period, the FAA will redirect flight activity to the airport’s other runways. While Runway 4L-22R is closed, Runways 4R-22L and 11-29 will remain operational. Passengers are advised to check with their airline for any updates, as flight schedules may be affected.”

According to the Port Authority, the 11,000-foot-long, 150-foot-wide runway, the busiest at EWR for departing flights, was last rehabilitated in 2014. The current project will include a new paved surface and upgraded lighting and signage.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is limiting the maximum hourly rate of flights to 28 arrivals and 28 departures until construction of the runway is finished.

Daily construction is expected to end on June 15, but will continue on Saturdays until the end of the year. Once construction is done, the limit will be raised to 34 arrivals and departures until Oct. 25, the FAA stated.

The new limits took effect on May 20.

United Airlines maintains a hub in Newark, and has been among the airlines most heavily impacted by the delays. The company cancelled 35 roundtrip flights per day from its Newark schedule earlier this month.

Jon Gooda, United Airlines’ vice president of airport operations at Newark Airport (EWR), recently said the runway construction is expected to be completed in “mid-June.”

“Our plan is to slowly and safely build our schedule over the summer,” Gooda reported last week. “However, because of the recent FAA decision, every airline’s schedule at EWR will be smaller than planned and smaller than last year, including ours. We’ll operate fewer daily flights this summer compared to last year, which gives us even more confidence that our EWR operation will continue to run reliably.”

OTHER UPDATES

Duffy discussed plans to boost the number of air traffic controllers across the nation earlier this month, outlining a blueprint for an aggressive recruitment campaign. He said the agency is on track to hire at least 2,000 controllers in the U.S. this year.

There is also a plan in the works to take immediate steps to fix the equipment malfunctions by “accelerating technological and logistical improvements,” the FAA said.

In the meanwhile, eyebrow-raising reports of equipment malfunctions continue to take place involving Newark Airport.

On May 19, a brief radio outage took place involving planes at the beleaguered airport – at least the fourth such “telecommunications issue” that has happened since April 28.

WASHINGTON (OSV News) — Pope Leo XIV has appointed Nicaraguan-born Father Pedro Bismarck Chau, rector of the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark, New Jersey, as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Newark.

At the same time, the pope accepted the resignation of Newark Auxiliary Bishop Gregory J. Studerus, who is 77.

The appointment and resignation were announced in Washington May 30 by Cardinal Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States.

As an auxiliary bishop, Bishop-designate Chau, 57, will join Auxiliary Bishops Manuel A. Cruz, Michael A. Saporito and Elias R. Lorenzo in ministering to the faithful with Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin.

The cardinal will be the principal celebrant of his episcopal ordination Mass Sept. 8 at the cathedral basilica in Newark.

In a statement, Cardinal Tobin said he warmly welcomes Pope Leo’s appointment of the new auxiliary for the archdiocese.

“His deep faith, considerable pastoral experience and love for the people of God will be a great blessing to our local Church,” he said. “I look forward to his contribution as we continue our mission to witness to Jesus Christ.”

The cardinal invited the faithful of the archdiocese to join me in praying for Bishop-designate Chau “as he prepares to take on this new role of leadership and service.”

“I am deeply grateful to Bishop Gregory Studerus for his years of faithful and generous service to the Archdiocese of Newark,” the cardinal added. “His pastoral heart, wisdom and humble dedication have made a lasting impact on our local Church. I pray that this next chapter of his life will be filled with peace and continued blessings.””

Bishop Studerus will remain active in the pastoral life of the archdiocese, according to a news release.

Bishop-designate Chau was born on June 28, 1967, in Managua, Nicaragua. He earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology in 2004 and a master’s degree in professional counseling in 2021, both from Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey. At Immaculate Conception Seminary School of Theology, he was awarded a master of arts in theology and a master in pastoral ministry before his ordination to the priesthood for the Newark Archdiocese on May 24, 2008.

Besides his present appointment as rector of the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart, the bishop-designate has worked in parishes, youth ministry, campus ministry and chaplaincy to the deaf. He has also served as a member of the priest personnel board and the council of priests. He is fluent in English, Spanish and American Sign Language.

Among his responsibilities as auxiliary bishop, he will assume pastoral oversight for the parishes and other Catholic institutions of Hudson County, which were previously under the care of Bishop Studerus.

The 500-square-mile Archdiocese of Newark has a Catholic population of over 1 million out of a total population of 3.1 million.

Updated on May 30, 2025, at 4:55 p.m. ET

Tonya Smith-Jackson, provost and executive vice chancellor for Academic Affairs at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (NC A&T), has been appointed chancellor of Rutgers University–Newark, effective August 1.

A human factors engineer with extensive academic leadership experience, Smith-Jackson will lead Rutgers–Newark as it builds on its momentum as a top 50 public research university and an exemplary anchor institution. Her appointment, announced jointly by President Jonathan Holloway and President-designate William F. Tate IV, was approved unanimously by the Rutgers Board of Governors.

“Tonya Smith-Jackson is a person of principles and values who has dedicated her professional life to making transformative changes in higher education, and she is deeply committed to the mission of Rutgers University–Newark,” said Holloway. “President-designate Tate and I have met with her and are excited for the energy, wisdom, talent and leadership that Dr. Smith-Jackson will bring to her role as chancellor.”

Smith-Jackson, who holds a doctorate in psychology/ergonomics and an interdisciplinary master of science degree in psychology and industrial engineering, has served at NC A&T since 2013, where she chaired its Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering. At the university, she also directed a cybersecurity center, the Human Factors Analytics Lab and the laboratory for Cyber-Human Analytics Research for the Internet of Things, and served as senior vice provost, leading the establishment of three new Centers of Excellence (Cybersecurity, Product Design and Manufacturing, and Entrepreneurship and Innovation).

In her current role, Smith-Jackson has led the creation of three new doctoral programs, the state’s first bachelor’s degree program in artificial intelligence and dramatic increases in both research staff and graduate assistants at NC A&T, the nation’s largest HBCU. She also led the university’s process and final recognition as an anchor institution by the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities.

Before arriving at NC A&T, Smith-Jackson spent 14 years at Virginia Tech, rising from assistant to associate to full professor of industrial and systems engineering. She worked as an engineer at IBM and Ericsson Mobile Communications and taught at several higher education institutions and community colleges. She also served for a year at the National Science Foundation (2018-2019) as program director in the NSF’s Cyber-Human Systems Program.

“Inspired by my parents’ belief in education as a pathway to liberation, meaning and purpose, I’ve dedicated my life to helping others obtain college degrees and upward mobility,” said Smith-Jackson.

“My success is not possible without chancellors, presidents and leaders I’ve learned from, and each institution’s commitment to scholarship, innovation, academic excellence, community engagement and providing opportunities for all — which is exactly what inspired me to seek out this opportunity to lead Rutgers–Newark.”

“It’s an incredible honor to join this esteemed institution, and I look forward to working together in shaping a future that honors institutional legacy and embraces bold new opportunities on the horizon,” she added.

Smith-Jackson’s appointment follows a year-long national search that involved wide-reaching participation across the Rutgers–Newark community and was led by the search committee, chaired by professor Salamishah Tillet and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Prabhas Moghe.

“Dr. Smith-Jackson’s academic, research, corporate and government service appointments provide meaningful experiences to draw upon in her role as chancellor at Rutgers–Newark. As an engineer with contributions to human factors research, she brings a systems-oriented, people-centered approach well-suited to leading an urban university,” Tate said. “I look forward to partnering with her to expand opportunity pathways, advance impactful research and promote economic development for the region and the state.”

Jeffrey Robinson, previously Rutgers–Newark provost and co-founder of The Center for Urban Entrepreneurship and Economic Development, has served as interim chancellor since July 1, 2024, after former chancellor Nancy Cantor left the post and became president of Hunter College. Robinson will remain in the position through July 30.

“I am deeply grateful to Interim Chancellor Jeffrey Robinson for the phenomenal job he has done in leading Rutgers–Newark over the past year — and for Jeff’s willingness to extend his interim appointment through July,” said Holloway. “I also want to thank Salamishah Tillet, Prabhas Moghe and all the members of the search committee for their dedication and teamwork, which have resulted in such an exciting appointment.”