Schooley's Mountain Paving to Bring One Travel Lane, Delays Expected

A portion of Schooley’s Mountain Road will be reduced to just one lane of travel for three weeks, set to begin at the end of August, Washington Township Police announced Tuesday.

A one-mile stretch from Newburgh Road to the Route 57 and Route 182 intersection will be milled and paved by Tilcon New York, beginning on Wednesday, Aug. 27. Construction will begin at 7 a.m. and end at 4 p.m. Monday through Friday for the three-week period, police said.

Both lanes will reopen to motorists at the end of each workday. Prep work has already begun on the roadway, police said.

The work was pushed back from an earlier start date due to the closure of the Rt. 46 between Washington Township and Hackettstown for a bridge replacement. That project has proven to cause backups in its first few days, with up to 15-minute delays for motorists heading west.

Police advise motorists should plan an alternate route and expect a large amount of congestion in the area of Schooley’s Mountain Road. Newburgh Road has been closed since the end of June, and will remain shut to through traffic until 2015 as the bridge spanning the Musconetcong River is also being replaced.

A 1.5-mile stretch of Schooley’s Mountain Road on the northern end was repaved earlier this summer between Springtown Road and Mill Road.