Daytime construction has been authorised from next week for the new I-295 southbound approach span to the new Scudder Falls Toll Bridge.
New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) has given the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission (DRJTBC) permission to close Route 175/Upper River Road in Ewing during daytime hours to allow for construction activities related to the project.
DRJTBC’s contractor previously was restricted from implementing full daytime closures of the short, two-lane state highway. Coronavirus-pandemic-related traffic volume declines have let NJDOT to agree that daytime closures and detours of Rte 175 are unlikely to cause adverse travel impacts.
The NJDOT approval of daytime road closures and detours means that potentially noisy construction no longer needs to take place at night. Originally, the work was set to begin overnight this week, but was postponed so that DRJTBC and the contractor could seek a schedule change from NJDOT.
The road closure is needed for work activities related to the construction of a new approach bridge that will carry I-295 southbound traffic from the Scudder Falls Toll Bridge (left) when it is completed and opened to traffic in late summer 2021.
The work involves heavy equipment used for drilling shafts to support the new approach span, which will cross over Route 175, the Delaware and Raritan Canal, and the Route 29 NB bypass roadway.