Lane Closures on I-78 this Weekend

Lane closures are planned soon for a stretch of Rt. 78 in Newark, where the state Department of Transportation will begin the final phase of a project to repair one of the state’s busiest stretches of highway. 

Motorists are encouraged to visit www.511nj.org for real-time travel information. The precise timing of the work is subject to change due to weather or other factors.  

The $72 million project will complete a five-phase program that began in 2005 to completely rehabilitate and improve I-78 from milepost 50.4 in Springfield to 58.5 in Newark, where 145,000 vehicles travel daily.

The project is scheduled to be completed in 2014.

Last month Ferreira Construction and Crisdel Group began to remove rumble strips, set up signs and place temporary pavement along the outside shoulders.

Construction on the the left-most express lanes in both directions begins this weekend. Express lanes will be narrowed to one lane and shifted on to the right shoulder.  In the local lanes, the right shoulder will be converted to a travel lane, providing an additional local lane through the construction zone.  Lanes will be closed overnight this weekend as the project gets underway.

 A total of 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, and during certain stages of construction, there will be overnight closures of express lanes.

The DOT will construct 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. 

In addition, deck patching, joint-sealing and guide rail repair will take place at sixteen bridges.  New Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) fiber-optic cables will be installed to connect with ITS facilities previously installed along neighboring sections of I-78.