Route 70 shoulder and lane closures
expected starting Monday in Cherry Hill

Traffic signal upgrades to begin next week

(Trenton) - New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) officials today announced the start of work to upgrade the traffic signals as part of the project to improve the condition of Route 70 in both directions from mile post 0.0 to mile post 7.6 in the Cherry Hill area.

Beginning at 7 a.m. on Monday, December 19, NJDOT contractor, Joseph Defino Trucking Co., will begin upgrading traffic signals from mile post 0.00 to 2.55 and 5.33 to 7.6.  Most of the work will require shoulder closures but there may be single lane closures during the day if necessary. Work will occur Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. until 3 p.m. until January when work shuts down for the winter.

This $9 million dollar project is divided into two contracts. This first contract will address mile post 2.55 to mile post 5.33 and is expected to complete in early 2017. The second contract addresses mile post 0.00 to mile post 2.55 and mile post 5.33 to mile post 7.6 and is expected to begin later this month and complete in the fall of 2017. Work will occur on both sides of Route 70 simultaneously when possible.

This work will address some of the worst road surface in the state and significantly improve driving conditions until a much larger, $50 million project begins in 2019 that will overhaul this entire stretch of Route 70. The work that begins this week will help reduce the impact of the future project.

Variable message signs and lane closure signs are being utilized throughout the project limits to provide advance notification to motorists of all traffic pattern changes associated with the deck replacement project. Throughout the project, NJDOT will provide information before upcoming road closures.

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 and for NJDOT news follow us on Twitter @NJDOT_info.