Route 70 Project Starts With Lane Closure Thursday Night

Route 70 will be reduced to one lane overnight Thursday as part of a $12.2 million milling and paving project that will cover 7 miles of the highway in Manchester and Pemberton townships, the state Department of Transportation announced.

The lane closure, which is set to begin at 8 p.m. Thursday, April 11, will allow the contractor, o will involve the overnight closure of one lane and the shoulder, with alternating traffic on the lane that remains open, on the stretch from the intersection with County Route 539 (Whiting New Egypt Road) in Manchester to North Branch Road in Pemberton.

The traffic shift will allow the contractor, A.E. Stone, to restripe the road with a new traffic pattern while it works on the shoulder on the eastbound side of Route 70. The road should be open to one lane of traffic in each direction by 6 a.m. Friday.

The project involves milling the asphalt and pavement reclamation, paving, guide rail upgrades, construction of ADA-compliant curbs and ramps, and drainage improvements as well as intersection work at Whiting New Egypt Road/CR539.

The work will be done primarily during the day from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday with occasional overnight work as necessary using an alternating traffic pattern from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m.

Access to properties will be maintained at all times during construction, the NJDOT said.

The project is anticipated to take three months, the NJDOT said.