Beginning Monday, January 13, from 9 p.m. until 6 a.m. the next day, and continuing each night for approximately two weeks, New Jersey Natural Gas will close and detour the Route 72 westbound jughandle to Doc Cramer Boulevard for a gas main installation as the Route 72 East Road project advances. The detour is before the jughandle and will be signed. The jughandle will be reopened each morning by 6 a.m.
Motorists traveling on Route 72 westbound wishing to exit at Doc Cramer Blvd. will be directed to exit before Doc Cramer Blvd. near the Stafford Square shopping center.
- Take Route 72 westbound and make a U-turn using the jughandle after West Street to Route 72 eastbound
- Take Route 72 eastbound
- Turn right onto General Grier Drive
- Turn right onto McKinley Avenue
- Continue on McKinley Avenue until it intersects with Doc Cramer Road
The $11.6 million federally-funded Route 72 East Road project will provide highway and signal intersection improvements to address congestion and safety concerns. Improvements are scheduled to include the addition of a 10-foot shoulder in each direction on Route 72 between the Garden State Parkway and the Stafford Square Shopping Center, median widening, new barrier curbs, plus new traffic signals and roadway improvements at two Route 72 intersections - Roosevelt Boulevard and Doc Cramer Boulevard.
There will be a new culvert and a revised jug handle circling a water basin from Route 72 westbound to a relocated East Road (East Road is being moved approximately 200 feet east from its current location), two new storm water basins will be constructed further down on Route 72 westbound, and West Road will be relocated east from its current location between McDonalds and Mr. Tire to a new location between Element Restaurant and Starboard Plaza. Washington Road, located parallel to Route 72 will end at the new West Road.
Construction is expected to be completed in late 2020. The precise timing of the work is subject to change due to weather or other factors. Motorists are encouraged to check NJDOT’s traffic information website www.511nj.org for construction updates and real-time travel information and for NJDOT news follow us on Twitter @NJDOT_info or on the NJDOT Facebook page.
If you have any questions, please contact Vanessa Meades, Regional Coordinator of Community Relations, NJDOT-Office of Community and Constituent Relations at (609) 963-1982.