Crash, Fire Response Concerns Raised At Parkway Project Hearing

TOMS RIVER, NJ — The proposed changes to the Garden State Parkway from exit 80 to 83 could pose some serious challenges for fire and crash response on the highway, a fire official said Wednesday.

Carl Weingroff, chief of Toms River Fire Company 1, raised the concerns during the public hearing held by the New Jersey Turnpike Authority at the Ocean County Library in Toms River.

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The project, which is in the final design stages and is expected to cost $509 million, has been under discussion for more than three years and aims to address congestion and high crash rates in the area from Interchange 80 to Interchange 83, the turnpike authority has said.

The proposed redesign would add a pair of lanes both northbound and southbound on the Parkway in the area of Exits 81 through 82A, called collector-distributor lanes. Those lanes would be for drivers getting off the Parkway for Route 37 and for Water Street, to go east to Toms River and Seaside Heights or west to Manchester and Lakehurst. Three main lanes would carry through-traffic, and a concrete Jersey barrier would separate the collector lanes from the through lanes.

The collector-distributor lane design is similar to what exists at Exits 89A-B-C in Brick.

The Jersey barrier separation is where the concern lies, Weingroff said, because it would complicate access for first responders — including the fire companies — trying to get to a vehicle fire or crash on the through lanes. Under the current design, fire engines leaving from Toms River Fire Companies 1 and 2, on Robbins and Water streets, would have to drive down to South Toms River to access the northbound through lanes, costing critical minutes in an emergency.

The proposal also includes replacing the Lakehurst Road bridge that crosses the Parkway and changing the southbound exit ramp design for Lakehurst Road. Instead of passing under the Lakehurst Road bridge, the exit from the Parkway southbound would be before you reached the bridge.

You can see a diagram of the proposed changes on the Turnpike Authority website.

At Exit 80 for Beachwood and South Toms River, the changes would include a new entrance ramp from Double Trouble Road to the southbound Parkway at Exit 80, and a new exit ramp from the northbound Parkway onto Route 9 southbound.

All along the 3.5-mile stretch the shoulders will be widened to a full 12 feet (currently they are 7 feet wide, an official said).

The Turnpike Authority has been in contact with residents who live along the northbound lanes of the Parkway seeking their input on a sound wall from about milemarker 82.7 to about 83.7.

Representatives from the authority told Toms River Mayor Daniel Rodrick the township needs to pass a resolution requesting consideration of a noise barrier. A final determination on one will depend on test results conducted in the area.

The project will be broken into two parts, with the first part including the Lakehurst Road bridge and ramp and the portion from milepost 82.7 to where it connects with Exit 83.

The bid on that part of the project is slated to be awarded in May 2027, a spokesman for the Turnpike Authority said. The construction is likely to begin in late summer 2027 and would likely be completed in 2030.

The second portion, from milepost 82.7 south to the Exit 80 portion, will be constructed after the first portion is completed, turnpike authority representatives said.

The proposed improvements are posted on the turnpike authority's website.

The NJ Turnpike Authority shared a description of the planned changes in a video in 2023.

People who wish to comment on the proposed project can submit written comments through Nov. 15 by emailing them to HighwayDesign@njta.gov, or may be mailed by U.S. Postal Service to Vincent Mignella, 1 Turnpike Plaza, P.O. Box 5042 Woodbridge, NJ 07095.