New I-287 traffic pattern
changes coming over Possumtown Road

(Trenton) - The New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) today announced that a new traffic pattern will be implemented on Interstate 287 northbound over Possumtown Road in Piscataway Township to reconstruct the left lane on the bridge.

Beginning Friday night, December 3, NJDOT will conduct temporary single and double lane and shoulder closures to establish a new traffic pattern. Once the new traffic pattern is established, I-287 southbound will maintain three lanes and an acceleration lane shifted to the right. I-287 northbound motorists will have three through-lanes available. Two through-lanes and a deceleration lane will be shifted to the right, and another northbound through-lane will be established as a contra-flow lane on the southbound side of the roadway. This pattern will remain until April 2011.

The federally-funded roadway reconstruction began in September 2009 and is providing motorist safety improvements over approximately seven miles of I-287 between Stelton Road in Piscataway, Middlesex County and Main Street in Franklin Township, Somerset County. This work will extend the lifespan of the roadway by more than 15 years and the new bridge decks by 50 years.

NJDOT will use variable message signs on I-287 to inform motorists of traffic pattern changes during construction. Real time travel and construction information is available online at www.511nj.org.