Beginning October 21, 2015, the New Jersey Turnpike Authority (NJTA) will close the exit from the southbound car lanes of the New Jersey Turnpike to Interchange 7A for about one month to make bridge repairs.
An inspection and investigation revealed that steel plates beneath the deck of a bridge on the exit ramp were not built to specification when the bridge was constructed as part of the Interchange 6 to 9 Widening Program. The contractor will return to the site and replace the deficient steel plates at no additional cost to the NJTA.
“I want to stress that the bridge is structurally sound and safe for traffic,” NJTA Chief Engineer Robert Fischer said. “Our concern is how the deficiencies identified during the NJTA inspection might affect the life span of the structure. The bridge was designed to last 75 years. We do not want future generations of New Jerseyans to have to replace it before the end of its expected life because of an error made during construction.”
The bridge is one of four similar structures built under a contract for widening-related work in the vicinity of Interchange 7A. The other three structures were built according to design specifications and do not need to be repaired.
The closure of this structure will not affect through traffic on the Turnpike, nor will it affect traffic exiting at Interchange 7A from the southbound truck lanes. The only impact will be to drivers who want to exit at 7A from the southbound car lanes.
The bridge will need to be closed around the clock once the repairs begin, but the work will be done only at nighttime. The bridge passes over the truck lanes. Some lane closures will be necessary in the truck lanes while the work is being done on the structure overhead. The NJTA is limiting the work to nighttime hours in order to eliminate the need for daytime lane closures and minimize the impact on traffic.
The project is expected to be complete before Thanksgiving.
Drivers who want to access Interstate 195 from the southbound Turnpike during the closure but do not want to use the truck lanes will be detoured to exit at Interchange 8 and take Route 133 to Route 130 south. Route 130 connects to I-195 about 1.4 miles west of Turnpike interchange 7A. Drivers in the car lanes will also have the option of detouring at Interchange 7 to access I-195 via Route 206 north.
For information about real-time traffic conditions, drivers should call 511 from a hands-free mobile device or download the SafeTripNJ smartphone app. For traffic alerts and other information on Twitter, drivers should follow @NJTurnpike and @511NJTPK. Live traffic cameras and traffic advisories are also available on the NJTA website (www.state.nj.us/turnpike).
[TLS]