NJ - 295/76/42 Construction Projects

[danlb_2000]

The deadline for Interim Ramp A is Monday morning. If you need to go from RT42 to I295 NB stay in the far right lane to access the ramp after the Creek Rd overpass. You will not be able to get on I295 after that point. The weave area will be blocked with barrier. In my opinion if they open it in time the Monday morning commute will require some patience as people are surprised with the new configuration.

Just passed by this morning and it doesn't appear they are anywhere near ready for this to open, they have a lot of work to do over the weekend. If they are blocking the weave, then I assume if you are coming north on 295 and DON'T want to continue on 295, they will be directing you to the I76 express lane exit? Monday's not the worst time to do the opening, being a holiday week traffic is likely to be lighter then normal in the morning.

[jeffandnicole]

I took notice to that as well...for a ramp to be open Sunday night, it's interesting to see that there's no pavement whatsoever for a 500' stretch as of 7am Friday!  But yet, there has been a considerable amount of pavement put down over the past 24-36 hours, so they are progressing nicely.  Surveyor did originally say the ramp should have been opened on either Dec 4 or 15, but with the weather over the past several weeks it's probably been a bit trickey to do some of that work.  This weekend will be much warmer, although rain is in the forecast.

If they are blocking the weave, then I assume if you are coming north on 295 and DON'T want to continue on 295, they will be directing you to the I76 express lane exit?

What they are doing is similar to the SB side of 295.  The weave will be closed, but there will be an opening where the gore point is located now.  Traffic intending on getting to I-76 West Local from 295 North will shoot out on the left side into their own dedicated lane.  For the time being, both the I-76 West Express & Local ramps will be open for traffic to get to 76 West, although I believe the roadway will be restriped so there will be 4-5 continuous lanes.

The other issue is signage - as of this point, the signs aren't up and ready for the new traffic configuration. They've been working on the overhead signage along Rt. 42, but it's still far from ready at this point.  Electronic signs can be used in the meantime for the new traffic configuration if those overhead signs can't be in place by the ramp's opening, although I'm sure many people will fly right by that new ramp regardless of the signage for a day or two! 

[danlb_2000]

I took notice to that as well...for a ramp to be open Sunday night, it's interesting to see that there's no pavement whatsoever for a 500' stretch as of 7am Friday!  But yet, there has been a considerable amount of pavement put down over the past 24-36 hours, so they are progressing nicely.  Surveyor did originally say the ramp should have been opened on either Dec 4 or 15, but with the weather over the past several weeks it's probably been a bit trickey to do some of that work.  This weekend will be much warmer, although rain is in the forecast.

If they are blocking the weave, then I assume if you are coming north on 295 and DON'T want to continue on 295, they will be directing you to the I76 express lane exit?

What they are doing is similar to the SB side of 295.  The weave will be closed, but there will be an opening where the gore point is located now.  Traffic intending on getting to I-76 West Local from 295 North will shoot out on the left side into their own dedicated lane.  For the time being, both the I-76 West Express & Local ramps will be open for traffic to get to 76 West, although I believe the roadway will be restriped so there will be 4-5 continuous lanes.

The other issue is signage - as of this point, the signs aren't up and ready for the new traffic configuration. They've been working on the overhead signage along Rt. 42, but it's still far from ready at this point.  Electronic signs can be used in the meantime for the new traffic configuration if those overhead signs can't be in place by the ramp's opening, although I'm sure many people will fly right by that new ramp regardless of the signage for a day or two!

Ah, ok, good point about the weave, I didn't think of that.

For people coming north on 42, if they miss the new ramp it's going to be a pain to get back on track. There really isn't an easy place to get back on 76 south is there?

[jeffandnicole]

The ol standby detour is I-76 West's Exit 1C for 130 South.  The sign even has TO 295/42 on it (probably because of the missing moves at the interchange). The biggest problem is the lane shifts due to the construction screws up the traffic patterns a bit.  And the ramp is only designed to hold maybe 10 cars at the most.  It's a ramp that's been used for detours in the past (such as when the Aljo curve is closed), although traffic volumes during rush hour on a Monday is a bit different than 11pm on a Saturday night!

[danlb_2000]

Drove through the area on Saturday afternoon and they had a lot more of the paving done and were starting to put up the sign structure just before the exit.

[jeffandnicole]

Here's some picture updates taken Saturday as well (apologies for the clarity of some of the signage):



New sign structure with temporary signage for the express/local lane split.  The next pic below will allow you to read the signage.



Closer view.  My guess is the overhead structure is permanent, and the eventual permanent sign will be a arrow-per-lanes sign (several years away).  Note the mini lane split signs to the left and right.  The sign structure on the ground just behind these temporary signs held the former BGS Y-split diagrammatic sign.  That entire structure will be completely removed.



Future temporary ramp from 42 North to 295 North.  Note the sound barrier.  That is simply newly set I beams with the old wall placed within them.



Where the 76 Express/Local Lanes combine, which is much earlier than previous.  At least for the weekend, until the temporarily reconfiguration is complete, the express/local lane split is barely 1/2 mile in length.  The traffic merging on the right is the 295 South to 76 West ramp.



On the Market Street overpass, looking down at 76 West at the 130 North Exit.  Previously the express/local split continued thru this area.  Now: 5 thru lanes, full left shoulder, no right shoulder. About a 1/4 mile beyond this point, the lanes shift to the left. 

[Zeffy]

I wonder if those signs will ever be re-done to add in control cities? I also expect that something will be placed next to the I-76 shield on the left sign, since there's a lot of empty space there. Also, I love how the right sign has a full on panel for the 'RIGHT 2 LANES', but the 'LEFT 2 LANES' is just an over-sized banner. Oh well.

[jeffandnicole]

That right BGS is about as temporary as a temporary BGS gets.  I wish I knew the exact date that sign was installed, but I imagine that sign will have a total lifespan of less than 2 weeks. 

I will guess that left BGS will remain.  That empty space looks just right for "TO I-676" to be added.  The 'Express' banner will be removed.  (It could be replaced with "West", although historically NJ has not used the cardinal direction on the I-76 signs in this area.  It's always been "Express/Local I-76" or "76 to 676".) And the "Left 2 Lanes" banner could become "Left 3 Lanes".

The traffic pattern thru this area will become:

Traffic on NJ 42 North:
The 3 left lanes will be for traffic continuing from NJ 42 North to I-76 West. 
The right lane will be an exit only lane for I-295 North. 
For less than 1/4 mile, there will be 3 thru lanes (which is similar on the I-76 East - NJ 42 South side of the roadway). 

Traffic proceeding North on 295:
The 295 North to 76 Express ramp on the left side of the highway will switch from being the left thru express lane to an left sided acceleration lane. 
The 295 North to 76 Local exit will be a thru lane, giving 76 West 4 lanes (And remember, there is no Express/Local divider anymore).

Traffic proceeding South on 295:
The 295 South to 76 West interchange pattern will not change - the left lane from that ramp becomes a thru lane on 76 West, creating 5 lanes.  Traffic will have immediate access to all 5 lanes.

[danlb_2000]

The new ramp did not open this morning, but it looks like they are making good progress on it. Could open any day now.

[J Route Z]

It's really going to take until 2020 to complete?

[danlb_2000]

It's really going to take until 2020 to complete?

It's currently scheduled to be completed in the fall of 2021. The southbound portion of the new 295 overpass is scheduled to open earlier, sometime during 2019.

[jeffandnicole]

Finally...the temporary ramp (well, temporary for the next 5 years) from 42 North to 295 North will be opening this weekend (weather permitting, of course - We are supposed to get upwards of an inch of rain over the weekend).

http://www.state.nj.us/transportation/about/press/2014/010814.shtm

In other observations...the interchange also gained a new Exit number!  Exit 27 will be the previously unnumbered exit for traffic exiting from 295 North to I-76 West. (295 North to I-76 West/Express was Exit 26, I-295 North to I-76 West/Local was unnumbered).  Personally, this doesn't make a whole lot of sense, as the express ramp will remain open and continued to be Exit 26.  But at the same time, the express/local lane divider will be removed, so there won't be any express/local lanes, but rather a ramp that meets I-76 West on the left, and a ramp that meets I-76 West on the right.  I guess the only sense would be to easily clarify if an exit is to be closed for some reason - they can easily say "Exit 26 closed, use Exit 27" or vice versa, as both will get motorists to the same point.

A new overhead sign has been installed at the split for Exit 27.  While not on display yet, this should be the first APL sign for the interchange (and it's only a temporary sign at that).

[danlb_2000]

Finally...the temporary ramp (well, temporary for the next 5 years) from 42 North to 295 North will be opening this weekend (weather permitting, of course - We are supposed to get upwards of an inch of rain over the weekend).

http://www.state.nj.us/transportation/about/press/2014/010814.shtm

In other observations...the interchange also gained a new Exit number!  Exit 27 will be the previously unnumbered exit for traffic exiting from 295 North to I-76 West. (295 North to I-76 West/Express was Exit 26, I-295 North to I-76 West/Local was unnumbered).  Personally, this doesn't make a whole lot of sense, as the express ramp will remain open and continued to be Exit 26.  But at the same time, the express/local lane divider will be removed, so there won't be any express/local lanes, but rather a ramp that meets I-76 West on the left, and a ramp that meets I-76 West on the right.  I guess the only sense would be to easily clarify if an exit is to be closed for some reason - they can easily say "Exit 26 closed, use Exit 27" or vice versa, as both will get motorists to the same point.

A new overhead sign has been installed at the split for Exit 27.  While not on display yet, this should be the first APL sign for the interchange (and it's only a temporary sign at that).

It will be good to see this ramp finally open. I noticed something was different with that sign when I drove by this morning but I could quite place what it was. I think the new exit number was still covered up.

[jeffandnicole]

I believe part of the overhead sign where the ramp for 76 & 295 will split was covered, and the actual arrows were missing (it appeared they took apart the old sign and substituted those arrows for now).  There was another sign on the left shoulder that was fully viewable which had 'Exit 27' shown as a left tab.

[bzakharin]

Why is the left exit from 295 South to 42 South unnumbered?

[jeffandnicole]

Prior to about 15 years ago, the South/East 295/76/42 area was a weave between the two highways, much like what the North/West 295/76/42 side is today.  When a barrier was placed between the 295 & 42/76 lanes, they never numbered the exit.  No clue why.

NJDOT will refer to the entire area as Exit 26, even if they are talking about the Rt. 42 Exit.

[danlb_2000]

I guess the weather delayed this, the ramp did not open this morning.

[jeffandnicole]

I guess the weather delayed this, the ramp did not open this morning.

If NJ had a 6 month long drought, a sure-fire way to end it would be for NJDOT to want to do some major traffic change.  I wished I had that luck playing the lottery.

[danlb_2000]

Does anyone know what these concrete pillars are going to be for? There are three of them along 42 North between the 295 ramps. Each one also has two corrugated steel pipes next to it which I assume are going to be used as concrete forms.

[Alps]

Does anyone know what these concrete pillars are going to be for? There are three of them along 42 North between the 295 ramps. Each one also has two corrugated steel pipes next to it which I assume are going to be used as concrete forms.

It's hard to tell from that angle, but most likely it's supporting I-295 flying high over the entire interchange in the future.

[danlb_2000]

It's hard to tell from that angle, but most likely it's supporting I-295 flying high over the entire interchange in the future.

Here is a closer picture. Since this was taken they have added one more section you can see on the ground next to it in this picture, and have build a little scaffolding platform around the top of it.

[jeffandnicole]

They also look to be in the position to support the future 42 North to 295 North ramp.

[jeffandnicole]

Interim, temporary signage.  The covered left exit tab will say LEFT Exit 27.  The bottom of both BGSs have a temporary exit marking for 295, because that's how this interchange has always been signed (295 North exits from 76 West, even though those on 295 already don't exit anywhere).  When the reconfigured traffic pattern is completed, the bottom of the signs will utilize APLs.

Notice the usage of what we would probably know as California Exit tabs, within the main part of the BGS.  That's part of the very temporary sign marking.

Note as well, I-76 is never shown as I-76 West.  It never has.  But yet, there is a small sign on the shoulder just beyond the split that actually states "To West I-76" (which is pointless now, until the lane reconfig is complete).

[Zeffy]

I'm not going to remark on anything since those signs are temporary - but boy those California internal exit tabs don't look too bad on New Jersey signs.

[NJRoadfan]

I'm not going to remark on anything since those signs are temporary - but boy those California internal exit tabs don't look too bad on New Jersey signs.

Must be because the content of the sign is below the exit tab and not squeezed together in a tiny panel. Most CalTrans signs look like the left side of that sign since they seem to restrict the height of their BGSes no matter the content type.