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[elsmere241]

Route going out: DE 2 to DE 141 to I-295 to NJ 70 to US 9

Gas on DE 2 ranged from $4.099 (BJ's) to $4.399 (Sunoco).  The Wawas in the area jumped from $4.259 to $4.399 this week.

The Delaware Memorial Bridge was a little stacked up because the right lane was closed.  The wind pulled the speed limit down to 40 mph.  With the rain and congestion I was going around 50. I did see the "Delaware" and "New Jersey" painted on the bridge, just after the "0.0" milemarker.

The 295/76/676/42 construction seems to be coming along.  It's still a little harrowing to stay on 295 north.

There's construction on NJ 70 the first few miles east of 295.  They may be widening it.  I noticed the shopping centers were set way back from the road, as if the state took right-of-way in advance, a lesson Delaware really ought to learn.  The Wawas seemed to be at the low end of gas prices, around $4.499.

Once NJ 70 was down to two lanes, I noticed a lot of traffic counters on it.  I also noticed the whole road was a lot more built up since I last went down it a couple of years earlier.

We stopped quickly at a new, tiny McDonald's.  It looks like they want to emphasize drive-thru more.  (I've seen many plans for McDonald's in New Castle County where they're upgrading to double drive-thrus.)

It looks like they've built a new intersection for NJ 70 and NJ 37 in Lakehurst. 

We took US 9 a little bit north to our destination, to look at an RV.  It looks like we're buying it unless the credit union changes its mind.

Round coming back: US 9 to I-195 to I-295 to DE 141 to DE 2.

We took US 9 north for a ways, through Toms River.  We got gas at a Sunoco, $4.479 for credit.  That was probably the best deal; Exxon and Shell were over $5.  I noticed a lot of stations were closed because it was Saturday, and many advertised kosher food.

When we crossed from Ocean County into Monmouth, US 9 went to a divided highway, with a Jersey barrier down the middle.

The control cities for I-195 were "Trenton" and "Shore Points".  All the guide signs on I-195 westbound listed it as "to NJ 29".  Just four lanes, and not many exits on it.  I took it because it was a recommended route.

The interchange for I-295 was posted as Exits 1 A-B, but there were small signs for "Old Exit 60A" and "Old Exit 60B".

I should have remembered that it's sixty miles from I-195 to the bridge.  I-295 seemed to drag on and on.  I'm not taking that route again when we pick up the RV on Tuesday.

The junction seemed smoother going south than it has in the past, but there was a cattle chute just after it.

The speed limit on the bridge was 40 again when we crossed, but traffic was going much faster.  That span was also marked at the state line.

The ramp for DE 141 north has its own lane now, but for some reason it is still posted as simply "Exit 5".  I-95 hasn't posted DE 141 as Exit 5 since about 1984, and in 1988 it became Exits 5 A-B.

[jeffandnicole]

I'm guessing this is a pre-owned RV you're looking at?  What kind/class of RV is it?

There's a 5 year project to repair, and in some areas do a full-depth reconstruction, of NJ 70 from NJ 38 to just west of NJ 73.  Nothing indicates it's going to be widened, which is absurd for the amount of traffic and congestion it experiences on a daily basis, including weekends, especially in the 2 lane per direction sections.  https://www.nj.gov/transportation/commuter/roads/rt70corridor/

The cattle chute you referenced, just south of Exit 26 of I-295, is due to a bridge widening and concrete replacement.  The current left lane is where the bridge was widened; the remainder of the structure will receive a new deck.  This is part of the 295/42 Missing Moves project in which 295 will be widened from 3 lanes to 4 lanes for a little over 1/2 mile between the ramps and NJ 47.

[elsmere241]

Let's see, it's a 2003 Four Winds Dutchman, I think, but not with a lot of miles.  I know it's a Class C.  Now we have to find a place to park it among other things.

I figured the cattle chute was part of the reconstruction of that interchange.  I was surprised at how well traffic currently flows in both directions on 295, but especially south.

As for NJ 70, they are at least getting traffic counts on part of the 2-lane portion.  We'll see what happens.  The last time we were on that road, again all the way from 295 to 9, was to try to get a travel trailer from that same dealership a couple of years ago.  Things have really built up.  Of course, I remember going out to Presidential Lakes in 1983 and things just seeming empty out that way.

One other thing: southbound on I-295, the ramp to NJ 140 east (Exit 2C, signed to US 40 east) is intermittently closed right now for construction.  The detour involves taking Exit 1C to Hook Road and then looping around somewhere - I saw signs for it in both directions.

[jeffandnicole]

One other thing: southbound on I-295, the ramp to NJ 140 east (Exit 2C, signed to US 40 east) is intermittently closed right now for construction.  The detour involves taking Exit 1C to Hook Road and then looping around somewhere - I saw signs for it in both directions.

Those detour signs do a great job of signing the detour route from 295 to get back to NJ 140. Yet, the normal permanent signage on 295 never uses NJ 140!

[Mr. Matté]

Also re: NJ 70, I don't think anything changed about the 70/37 circle. GSV from Feb/March shows no changes to the physical configuration of it nor are there any signs of construction starting or being ongoing (considering how long it takes to do construction in NJ especially in what looks to be a area full of wetlands/wetland buffers). The only changes I know of recently in the Lakehurst area are the realignment of two Y intersections to Ts. (70/Beckerville and Ridgway Blvd./CR 547)

[elsmere241]

I just didn't recognize the 70/37 intersection in contrast to a couple of years earlier, but I could have not been paying attention the time before.

[elsmere241]

The RV fell through.  We may be tent camping on the road trip we were planning to take in June and July.