Work To Convert I-95 To I-295 In Mercer County Begins

Lane closures on Route I-95 South in Mercer County begin this week as sign replacement begins for the I-295 redesignation project, the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) announced on Monday, Jan. 29.

On Monday night, the closure was in effect from 8 p.m. until 6 a.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 30. Closures will be in effect each night from 10 p.m. until 5 a.m. the following morning from Tuesday, Jan. 30, through Friday, Feb. 2.

NJDOT Contractor South State Inc. will close two lanes on I-95 South beginning at Route 1 to install new overhead signs as part of the redesignation of I-95 in New Jersey as I-295. As the new signs are installed, they will include both the new exit number and the old exit number. At least one lane will be maintained during construction.

Additionally, the shoulder on I-95 South will be closed from 7 a.m. until 3 p.m. Monday through Friday as mile markers and other signs are replaced. The new signs will be covered until the corresponding overhead signs are updated with the new exit numbers, at which time the new roadside signs will be unveiled.

Crews will begin at the Route 1 interchange and continue along I-95 southbound toward the Scudder Falls Bridge at the Delaware River for the next few weeks and then switch to I-95 northbound and proceed toward the Route 1 interchange. As the project proceeds over the next few months, NJDOT will provide updates with any necessary lane closures and updated exit numbers.

This work is part of a larger project in which a new interchange is being constructed to connect I-95 to I276/Pennsylvania Turnpike in Bristol Township, Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania Turnpike connects to the New Jersey Turnpike at Interchange 6 via the New Jersey Turnpike Pearl Harbor Memorial Turnpike Extension in Florence, New Jersey. When the new I-95/Pennsylvania Turnpike interchange is completed in Bristol this summer, these highways will be redesignated as I-95, which will create a continuous I-95 from Pennsylvania through New Jersey.

The section of what is now I-95 in New Jersey is becoming I-295 by extending the existing I-295 from the Route 1 Interchange to the Delaware River. Concurrently, the I-95 section in Pennsylvania, from the Delaware River south to the new interchange will be redesignated as I-295. Seven interchanges in New Jersey and four interchanges in Pennsylvania will be renumbered, as well as four exits on I-195 in Hamilton.

NJDOT is working with the New Jersey Turnpike Authority, Pennsylvania Turnpike Authority, PENNDOT, and the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission on this project. Public outreach is on-going and additional information can be found on NJDOT’s project website.

The precise timing of the work is subject to change due to weather or other factors.

Patch file photo