NJDOT to reconfigure a section of Route 168
in Mount Ephraim and Haddon Heights
(Trenton) - NJDOT today announced plans to implement a permanent new striping pattern along Route 168 from north of Interstate 295 (milepost 7.5) to Merchant Street (milepost 8.6) which is designed to improve safety and mobility for all users of the road while relieving vehicular congestion in Mount Ephraim and Haddon Heights, Camden County.
NJDOT’s maintenance contractor, South State, Inc., is scheduled to begin temporary striping activities on Wednesday night, October 30. The new striping plan will retrofit the highway and reduce the number of travel lanes from four (two in each direction) to two travel lanes (one in each direction) with a dual-use center turn-lane in between them. The existing lane configuration on Route 168 does not include dedicated left-turn lanes which can lead to considerable backups in the inside "high-speed" through lane and great difficulty in making left turns.
The presence of the new dual-use center turn-lane serves to free up traffic to operate more orderly and efficiently. This type of retrofit project is often times referred to as a "road diet". NJDOT has performed similar adjustments to a stretch Route 45 in Woodbury and along Route 9 in Lakewood to help improve traffic flow and safety.
The contractor will return to Route 168 for final paving and striping operations within a few weeks. One lane of Route 168 will remain open to traffic in each direction throughout construction, while traffic shifts and single lane closures will be utilized during off-peak hours. Access to local businesses and properties will be maintained.
This work is being done under a $9.2 million maintenance resurfacing and roadway repair contract that is milling and repaving deteriorated sections of asphalt and concrete roadway on five different highways in Burlington, Camden and Gloucester counties. The contract began on Route 42 in May.
The precise timing of the work is subject to change due to weather or other factors. Motorists are encouraged to check NJDOT’s traffic information website www.511nj.org for real-time travel information.
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