Interstate 78 westbound Express Exit 56 ramp for Elizabeth Avenue to be closed in Newark

NJDOT's contractor, a joint-venture of Ferreira Construction and Crisdel Group, is scheduled to close the ramp from the Express lanes on Friday night, September 28. I-78 westbound Express motorists will be directed to crossover to the local lanes at milepost 55 and then to U-turn at Exit 50 (Vauxhall Road) and back on to I-78 eastbound to Exit 56. To avoid the detour, westbound express motorists for Exit 56 will be directed to use I-78 westbound Local. The I-78 westbound Local lanes ramp for Elizabeth Avenue will remain open during this stage of work, except for the night of the 28th to allow for the implementation of the new traffic pattern. During the overnight closure, I-78 eastbound local motorists for Exit 56 will be directed to Exit 55.

The $72 million project is constructing 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. This is one of the busiest stretches of highway in New Jersey with an average of 145,000 vehicles traveling it daily. The new pavement is designed to last up to 20 years and the project is scheduled to be completed in early 2014.

The highway is being reconstructed in stages to minimize impacts to motorists. 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.

Dynamic Message Signs (DMS) will be utilized on Route 78 as well as the New Jersey Turnpike and Garden State Parkway, to provide real-time work zone traffic information to motorists. The precise timing of the work is subject to change due to weather or other factors. Motorists are encouraged to check www.511nj.org for real-time travel information.