Year-Long I-78 Rehabilitation Project On NJ/PA Border Begins With Lane Closures

PHILLIPSBURG, NJ — Drivers traversing Interstate 78 and using the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge connecting New Jersey and Pennsylvania can expect to experience lane closures and delays beginning this week and continuing over the next year.

A series of daytime and overnight lane closures are being implemented this week along portions of the I-78 Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge approach roadway segments in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, The Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission announced.

The travel restrictions are as follows:

• 8 p.m. Thursday, Apr. 25, to 5 a.m. Friday, Apr. 26 – I-78 eastbound center and rights lanes closed (one of three lanes open) for pothole repairs from the Morgan Hill Road/I-78 interchange (Exit 75) in Pennsylvania to the Routes 22 and 173/I-78 interchange (Exit 3) in New Jersey.
• 10 p.m. Thursday, Apr. 25, to 7 a.m. Friday, Apr. 26 – I-78 westbound center and right lanes closed (one of three lanes open) for pothole repairs from the Routes 22 and 173/I-78 interchange (Exit 3) in New Jersey to the I-78 Toll Bridge at the Delaware River.

Drivers should anticipate potential minor slowdowns and backups. Motorists are urged to reduce speeds and exercise caution whenever approaching active construction zones or restricted travel areas.

The lane closures are the first part of the year-long I-78 NJ Roadway Rehabilitation and Power & Communication Infrastructure Improvements Project.

The project primarily involves milling and paving work, including the three ramps the Commission owns at Exit 3.

Other project tasks involve resurfacing of shoulders, installing shoulder rumble strips, roadway restriping, and sealing of the I-78 Toll Bridge’s concrete road deck and 14 other Commission-owned approach bridges in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

The project also includes upgrades to the Commission’s security camera network at the I-78 Toll Bridge and the Commission’s I-78 approach highway segments in New Jersey (4.2 miles) and Pennsylvania (2.25 miles).

The Commission’s New Jersey I-78 highway segment was last rehabilitated between 2007 and 2009.

Over the past five years, the segment has shown advanced signs of deterioration after undergoing a series of stop-gap asphalt joint replacements and pothole repair projects.

The contract for the work was awarded to Crisdel Group, Inc. of South Plainfield for $23,530,677 in late February. The project is expected to reach completion at the end of the year.

The I-78 Toll Bridge is the Commission’s busiest river crossing. It carried a daily average of 63,700 vehicles in 2023. The bridge also ranks among the nation’s most frequently used truck crossings, according to the Commission.

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