Community Corner
Traffic Pattern Changes Begin on 78 Westbound Friday Night
Major highway rehabilitation will create traffic pattern changes in Route 78 westbound lanes starting Friday night, Aug. 10.
Beginning on Friday night, Aug. 10, reconstruction will begin on the left and center travel-lanes on I-78 westbound local lanes in Essex and Union counties.
The New Jersey Dept. of Transportation announced that overnight lane closures will be necessary on I-78 westbound by the end of the weekend.
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During this phase of construction, NJDOT reports that I-78 westbound will be permanently reduced from five travel lanes to four – with two lanes maintained in the local lanes (reduced from four) and two in the express lanes (increased from one lane currently).
Access from the Peddie Street/Elizabeth Street ramp to I-78 westbound local will be closed and the I-78 westbound express shoulder will be closed from Exit 57 to just east of the Garden State Parkway. The entrance ramp from Route 1&9 northbound and Newark Airport onto I-78 westbound will be narrowed to one lane.
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NJDOT in July.
The $72 million project is constructing a new asphalt roadway along both directions of I-78 from west of Ramsey Avenue (milepost 53.8) in Union Township to the Route 21 interchange (milepost 56.9) in Newark. NJDOT reports that this is one of the busiest stretches of highway in New Jersey with an average of 145,000 vehicles traveling it daily. The agency says that the new pavement is designed to last up to 20 years.
The project is scheduled to be completed in early 2014.
NJDOT is reconstructing the highway in stages to minimize impacts to motorists. The agency says that four of the five I-78 travel lanes will remain open in each direction during peak period hours throughout construction. Single and double-lane closures will be allowed during overnight and off-peak hours.
Dynamic Message Signs will be utilized on 78 — as well as the New Jersey Turnpike and Garden State Parkway — to provide real-time work zone traffic information to motorists.
The precise timing of the work is subject to change due to weather or other factors.
Motorists can check www.511nj.org for real-time travel information.
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