Get Info on 295/42/76 Realignment Project, Thursday Night in Bellmawr
State Department of Transportation representatives will be on hand to answer questions about the major highway project.
Photos
Pdfs
The Route 295/42/76 interchange as we know it is on its way out—over the next several years, a series of viaducts, new ramps and bridges will transform the tangled mess of concrete spaghetti in a dramatic redesign.
With the Al-Jo set to go the way of the dodo, the state Department of Transportation (DOT) is holding an informal information session Thursday evening in Bellmawr on the project, dubbed Direct Connect.
Designed to give residents and commuters a look at what the full project entails—10 new bridges, three miles of noise barriers, 22 retaining walls, and more, among the massive changes to the roads themselves—how long it will take and how it'll help alleviate the daily traffic nightmare that is the current configuration.
“This is a major multi-year project that will have a substantial impact on Camden County motorists and several municipalities,” said freeholder Ian Leonard, liaison the Camden County Department of Public Works, in a statement Wednesday. “It is important for county residents to be aware of how this construction will affect their commute and their communities.”
With work tentatively slated to begin in March, the eight-year, $900 million project is split into four phases, which will overlap as the roads are realigned. The last pieces, mostly along Route 42, wouldn't be complete until 2021, according to the DOT's plans.
The changes will eliminate some of what state officials said are the most dangerous elements of the current alignment, including the weaving merge between Route 42 north and Route 295.
DOT representatives will be on hand, with maps and plans in hand for public inspection, for the information meeting Thursday night, which is scheduled from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Bellmawr Ballroom, at 29 Lewis Avenue in Bellmawr.
Jeremiah Wright
9:36 pm on Wednesday, February 20, 2013
"8 years"? EIGHT? YEARS? Why not just round it up to 10? Unless you are building the Great Wall of China, there is absolutely no reason this project should take any longer than 2. Are there some magnificent feats of engineering here or something? Of course not. No - our government, unions, politically connected engineering, transportation, and construction firms just want to drag this white elephant along for the next half century so they can maximize their profit at the expense of the taxpayer's wallet and commuters' sanity. This isn't progress people. It's a crime.
Charles
8:47 am on Thursday, February 21, 2013
Considering how long it took to get
295 done, and 55 too, this project is hurtling along on a fast track.
J
10:41 am on Thursday, February 21, 2013
Mr wright, what you neglect is that during all this construction is the fact that motorist must be able to continually access all three roads during the entire time of construction. So I get that you think 8 years is a long time for a project that in your mind should only take 2 years. Try working alongside highway traffic or not driving on 295, 42, 76 for a daily commute to Philly .
Scott
11:03 am on Thursday, February 21, 2013
Mr. Wright is against anything that involves vision and progress when it costs money. And J, you are right, the biggest challenge will be keeping traffic flowing at some pace while all this goes on. I drive this area often and the "weave" off 42 onto 295 is like taking your life and putting it in the hands of other drivers. It is just plain dangerous. The real complaint should be against those that devised this spaghetti mess years ago.
Jeremiah Wright
3:48 pm on Thursday, February 21, 2013
You want to talk "dangerous"? How about that suicide merge from Warwick onto 295 during that Porkulus project which dragged on for 3 years. A driver was expected to go from a complete stop to 55 MPH in about 10 feet. And how about all the accidents, deaths, and injuries that occurred along 295 at that time because the powers that be wanted that project to be dragged out as long as possible. And did we get at least an extra lane of traffic for those 3 years of misery? No - it was essentially a repaving job. What a laugh.
Joe Lag
11:26 am on Thursday, February 21, 2013
The state of Texas could build 1000 miles of state of the art highway in that amount of time and the end result would be a much better system than what NJ will provide. Look at all the work that went into the 295 re-do and we ended up with the same old highway just a smoother surface for now.
Porterincollingswood
11:34 am on Thursday, February 21, 2013
There's a slight difference in building "1000 miles" of highway in low-population, rural, flat areas of Texas and building one in the most densely populated state in the US.
Seriously, that statement is ludicrous and downright silly. Ask residents of Dallas and Houston, they'll tell you they suffer just as much from construction efforts aimed at retrofitting old highways that were built when the population was much much lower.
Porterincollingswood
11:36 am on Thursday, February 21, 2013
And as someone who traveled through rural America at the height of the stimulus program (WY, ID, MT, NE, CO, SD) I can tell you - first hand - that they don't know how to do ANYTHING out there. Minor roadwork had traffic backed up for miles (over an hour in ID) because they can't grasp how to make traffic passable in a workzone. It was like watching a bunch of 2nd graders try to run a construction project. Never saw anything like that in the NE. Clueless.
Sue Russoniello
2:28 pm on Thursday, February 21, 2013
I, for one, am pleased that this project is going to be addressed. It's very easy to be an "armchair" expert, but since I do not have a degree in civil engineering, I will leave the logistics of this nightmare to those who do. And perhaps we can back off the personal attacks? Attend the meeting and LISTEN to what is being planned, make CONSTRUCTIVE and RESPECTFUL comments if you have any, and then just be glad it's not your mother out on the side of the road as we all zoom past at 75 miles per hour!
Jeremiah Wright
3:40 pm on Thursday, February 21, 2013
The Hoover Dam was completed in 5 years. EIGHTY. YEARS. AGO. This is taking 8. Really?
Porterincollingswood
3:59 pm on Thursday, February 21, 2013
Five years? I'm sure you could have done it over a long weekend...
Jeremiah Wright
4:17 pm on Thursday, February 21, 2013
I'm all for this project mind you. Should have been started & completed years ago.
This will be South Jersey's version of the Big Dig. Over budget. Nowhere near done in 8 years. Count on it.
Rob Pawlowski
7:41 pm on Thursday, February 21, 2013
JW, Then why don't you in all of your infinite wisdom tell the engineers and construction workers how to do their jobs? Seriously, get off of your soapbox and DON'T use said roads to commute to where ever it is you need to go.
If you haven't got a clue as to the logistics of the job you're just a bantering troll.
Ross Chatham
2:30 pm on Friday, February 22, 2013
What are "Missing Moves" in the diagram illustration?
Bryan Littel
2:56 pm on Friday, February 22, 2013
Ross - they're potential ramps between 295/42 that would solve the problem of not being able to get to 42 south from 295 and 295 south from 42.
Mark Matthews
7:52 am on Monday, February 25, 2013
I have recently contacted the State for this information, and will post a blog about it once I have the info. Its a $150 million dollar project, and no information seems to be public.
Charles
9:13 am on Saturday, February 23, 2013
I thoought they already existed in a previously approved plan. Am I mistaken?