NJ - 295/76/42 Construction Projects

[Zeffy]

Nice pics! Boy oh boy is that APL sign crammed on the left side. Trenton has all the space to itself while Camden and Phila are fighting over themselves and 500ft.  But other than that, looks to be a great job done overall. If I'm ever in that area (unlikely) I'll be sure to check out the new ramp.

[jeffandnicole]

I would've liked to have seen "Exit Only' on the 42 North signs for 295 North a bit further back, but I guess they didn't do that since the Creek Rd exit comes up first.

BTW, when I saw the "Creek Road" BGS, I was looking at it trying to figure out what was different.  Finally dawned on me they wrote out "Road" instead of abbreviating it Creek Rd as they normally have done.

[motorway]

Thanks for keeping the thread updated with pictures, I don't get to go down that way too often.

[Zeffy]

Thanks for keeping the thread updated with pictures, I don't get to go down that way too often.

Agreed. NJ 42 is out of my way, but I've used 295 several times in the Trenton area, but never made it anywhere near NJ 42. I-76 I also haven't gotten a chance to use yet.

[jeffandnicole]

As long as the mods don't mind me blasting a dozen pics on a post, I'll keep posting them.

This was a significant stage in the construction. Completely overlooked was the unceremonious end to the express/local lane split. It had outlived any real usefulness 15 or 20 years ago, and will eliminate the confusion as to which side of the road to take for those unfamiliar with the area.

After this, there isn't a whole helluva lot of interesting work going on - walls, overpass reconstruction and bridge piers are being built. Eventually, they'll start working on ramps, but I don't think that stuff starts up until the summer. Creek Rd will get a few much needed traffic lights around 42 this spring, which will be a nice addition to an otherwise chaotic traffic scene in the area.

[J Route Z]

So on Route 42 northbound, exit 14 jumps to exit 1B?

[jeffandnicole]

So on Route 42 northbound, exit 14 jumps to exit 1B?

One of the nuances of 1 road having 2 different identities (3, if you want to include the AC Expressway).

Exit 14 is the last exit of Rt. 42.  Exit 1B is the 1st exit of I-76 West.

[jeffandnicole]

An unusual touch, especially in a state that haphazardly signs the beginning & ending of their routes.

[Alex]

As long as the mods don't mind me blasting a dozen pics on a post, I'll keep posting them.

By all means, keep posting them. They make this thread that much more worthwhile.

[Zeffy]

An unusual touch, especially in a state that haphazardly signs the beginning & ending of their routes.

I really hope that's a temporary assembly... I don't want more RIDOT shields ending up in New Jersey.

[jeffandnicole]

Relax...you can clearly see that it's on a temporary post with those sign clips that slide up and down.

Everything I've posted here over the past year is temporary. Even those large BGSs are going to remain for only 5 years or so. Anything they've done so far is simply to allow for the permanent structures to be put in place while minimally disrupting traffic. 

If anything, I give the people that are responsible for designing the signs in this construction zone credit for keeping up with the latest design criteria and standards.

[vdeane]

I find it impressive how much effort NJ puts into temporary signage.  In NY we usually just have some flimsy orange thing on wooden posts weighed down with sandbags.  In NJ they actually install gantries and manufacture a regular sign.

[CrystalWalrein]

Well, that sign is going to be up for the next four years, so why not?

[bzakharin]

So... if I-76 begins there, why is the I-295 exit 1B? Shouldn't it be 14A or something? Same with 1A in the other direction for that matter.

[CrystalWalrein]

I suppose because the actual mileage for I-76 begins shortly before the I-295 interchange, or to simply disambiguate the road from NJ 42. Not that it matters since many people still call the stretch of I-76 'Route 42'.

[jeffandnicole]

42 & 76 meet underneath the Browning Road overpass that cuts thru the interchange. (Which means the 'Begin' sign posted above is a bit before the actual starting point, but what's several hundred feet between friends?)

If you want to get more technical, I-76 was never signed properly in the first place.  MP 0.0 should be at midspan of the Walt Whitman Bridge, not in this interchange.  For whatever reason, they decided to sign this highway from east to west, not west to east.

I-76 Eastbound's Exit 1A (295 South) has always been on Route 42's turf.  76 West 1B has now encroached on 42.  When the missing moves are built, what will persumably be Exit 1A (42 North to 295 South, to match the Exit 1A movement from 76 East to 295 South) will be nearly 3/4 of a mile into Route 42's terrority, and even before the current location Exit 14 of Route 42.  The last design I saw for the interchange also moves the Creek Road Exit slightly south and partially with the 42 to 295 ramp, so it's possible the exit sigange may include Exit 14 & Exit 1A on a single sign.

[jeffandnicole]

Bids for Contract #2 (of 4) for the 295/76/42 project were opened today. The lowest bid of $152.6 million is quite a bit under the estimate of $215 million. The 2nd lowest bid is about $15 million greater than the lowest bid.

Contract #2 was awarded Friday.  I think I recall reading construction related to this contract will start this spring or summer; Completion date: December, 2017.  The link below details each of the items within the bid.

http://www.state.nj.us/transportation/business/procurement/ConstrServ/documents/BidTabs13148.pdf

[Alps]

42 & 76 meet underneath the Browning Road overpass that cuts thru the interchange. (Which means the 'Begin' sign posted above is a bit before the actual starting point, but what's several hundred feet between friends?)

If you want to get more technical, I-76 was never signed properly in the first place.  MP 0.0 should be at midspan of the Walt Whitman Bridge, not in this interchange.  For whatever reason, they decided to sign this highway from east to west, not west to east.

I-76 Eastbound's Exit 1A (295 South) has always been on Route 42's turf.  76 West 1B has now encroached on 42.  When the missing moves are built, what will persumably be Exit 1A (42 North to 295 South, to match the Exit 1A movement from 76 East to 295 South) will be nearly 3/4 of a mile into Route 42's terrority, and even before the current location Exit 14 of Route 42.  The last design I saw for the interchange also moves the Creek Road Exit slightly south and partially with the 42 to 295 ramp, so it's possible the exit sigange may include Exit 14 & Exit 1A on a single sign.

I would imagine the Missing Moves end up signed as 14A-B with Creek Rd.

[danlb_2000]

Here is a picture I tool recently of the 295 North bound ramp to 42. You can see they have put up sheet pile along the ramp in the median and also removed the side of the ramp overpass that goes over 42 North. From the plans it appears that a new ramp is going to be built next to the old one.

I also noticed the other day that the steel for the Essex Ave overpass has arrived along with a crane to install it. The Bell Road bridge is also coming along nicely, the structure for the fence along the side of the overpass was installed today and they have recently started working on the approaches to the bridge. This side should be finished pretty soon.

[PHLBOS]

2 things regarding the above BGS':

1.  The exit tab is positioned on the wrong side of that I-295 North BGS (it should be on the top-right corner).

2.  Given that the very close proximity of the NJ 42/I-76 handoff to this location, I am very surprised that NJDOT even bothered at all w/the 42 NORTH listing on that through BGS.  I also would have moved that TO between the I-76 & 676 shields.  Such would've produced a shorter (& less convoluted) BGS.

[bzakharin]

2.  Given that the very close proximity of the NJ 42/I-76 handoff to this location, I am very surprised that NJDOT even bothered at all w/the 42 NORTH listing on that through BGS.  I also would have moved that TO between the I-76 & 676 shields.  Such would've produced a shorter (& less convoluted) BGS.

Many people (especially traffic reporters) don't recognize the existence of I-76 in New Jersey calling the entire segment to the Walt Whitman Bridge the "42 Freeway". On the other hand, the exit is signed 1B, which suggests that someone wants to appropriate a portion of 42 to I-76. Really, we don't need 3 sets of exit numbers on a short, seemingly continuous piece of road (especially since the ones on 42 start with 6 and not 1, and the ones on 76 don't go above 2). I mean, sure, they don't overlap to any great extent, but some people use them to measure distances (that's why they're mileage based, right?), and both the ACE and I-76 already have the "wrong" direction numbering. This could all be avoided, of course, by extending I-76 down the ACE, but short of that, couldn't there be common exit numbers? Do common exit numbers spanning multiple designations exist elsewhere? And I don't mean brief ones like this one where exit 1B is technically on 42 or exit 354 which is technically in NJ (by the way, why did that happen?)

[roadman65]

MD used to have them on I-95 for both the JFK Highway and Harbor Tunnel Thruway.  True the HTT was not I-95, but it was defacto I-95 which gave it the illusion.  Plus the old Harbor Tunnel Thruway had two sequences for both NB and SB having two sets o numbers as well.  NB was 1 to 5 and SB was 11 to 18.  Hence north of the tunnel all exits were all NB off and SB on  and south of the tunnel its was SB off and NB on, but still created confusion somewhat.  Then the JFK highway started its own sequence with Exit 2 for I-695 to Exit 9 for MD 279 at Elkton. 

Following in a linear line would experience three sets of numbers.

[jeffandnicole]

On the other hand, the exit is signed 1B, which suggests that someone wants to appropriate a portion of 42 to I-76.

To be technical, Exit 1A on 76 East has always been on Rt. 42.  The 42/76 meeting point is where the Browning Road overpass crosses the highway.

...exit 354 which is technically in NJ (by the way, why did that happen?)

That's the DRPA for you.  I actually did ask that question once.  The answer had something to do with because the bridge started in PA, they were permitted to sign it as a continuation of PA's numbering. 

No, I'm not saying it makes sense.  I'm just saying what they told me.  The whole agency is kinda nutballish anyway, so they tend to make stuff up when they want to.

Do common exit numbers spanning multiple designations exist elsewhere?

You can probably include NJ I-295's Interchange 60 with 195/29 under this heading.

[PHLBOS]

Many people (especially traffic reporters) don't recognize the existence of I-76 in New Jersey calling the entire segment to the Walt Whitman Bridge the "42 Freeway".

Old news.  At least it's not as bad as traffic reporters still refering to parts of I-93 & I-95 in the metropolitan Boston area as Route 128; but that's another topic for another thread.

BTW, here's the pre-construction signage for that area.

Aerial view of the area.

As one can see, this stretch of highway is clearly between the I-295 branch-offs and could be argued whether it's a part of NJ 42 or not.  Looking at the pre-construction interchange geometry, 42's northern terminus appears to be located just south of the Browning Road overpass at the south 295 branch-off (the missing Exit 1A in this direction is likely being reserved for the future direct-ramp to I-295 South). 

Regardless, the new pull-through BGS is incorrect for this particular location, given the very close proximity to 42's northern terminus.

On the other hand, the exit is signed 1B, which suggests that someone wants to appropriate a portion of 42 to I-76.

Note the Exit 1X's here are likely I-76-based and not NJ 42-based.
See above regarding the missing Exit 1A for this direction.

Really, we don't need 3 sets of exit numbers on a short, seemingly continuous piece of road (especially since the ones on 42 start with 6 and not 1, and the ones on 76 don't go above 2

Actually, the North-South Freeway continues north of the Walt Whitman Bridge as I-676 and has its own set of exit numbers; so there's actually four sets of exit numbers for one continuous road (if one includes the ACE).  Remember prior to 1973, I-76 & 676 were the reverse of their current routings.

I mean, sure, they don't overlap to any great extent, but some people use them to measure distances (that's why they're mileage based, right?), and both the ACE and I-76 already have the "wrong" direction numbering. This could all be avoided, of course, by extending I-76 down the ACE, but short of that, couldn't there be common exit numbers?

IIRC, the above has been discussed either in this thread (on previous pages) or other threads.  In most instances & along free highways (not toll roads), the exit numbers usually follow the route number.

It's worth noting that 42's exit numbers only came about within the last decade.  Prior to that, 42's exits had no numbering at all. 

Do common exit numbers spanning multiple designations exist elsewhere?

I-76 & 276 along the PA Turnpike (276's exit numbering does not reset to 1 at Valley Forge).

I-495/Capital Beltway, west of the I-95 merge in MD (495's exit numbers don't reset to 1 at the I-95 merge).  And before anybody mentions that 95 & 495 are multiplexed signagewise, the eastern-half of the Beltway is technically just I-95. 

And I don't mean brief ones like this one where exit 1B is technically on 42 or exit 354 which is technically in NJ (by the way, why did that happen?)

See above-aerial view for clarification; although one could argue that the short stretch (beween I-295 South & North) could be part of through-I-295 pre-construction (which has its own set of exit numbers & mile markers).

As far as the Exit 354 (it was signed as Exit 48 before PA switched over to mile-marker-based exit numbering) is concerned; that was a result of a colosal screw-up between the DRPA and/or PennDOT.  It should be Exit 2 (using current I-76/NJ numbering).

[danlb_2000]

Just as an FYI, here is the signage that was at the location of my picture before the construction...

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.866776,-75.101029,3a,75y,345.19h,88.56t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sBaibrJj4e0bPpKFdGBMrdA!2e0?hl=en