The Easton-Phillipsburg Toll Bridge Rehabilitation Project is expected to be completed in spring 2015 and includes about 15 months of single-lane travel restrictions near the toll bridge in the area of the toll bridge east and west on Route 22, the release says.
View full sizeTraffic control devices are in place near the Easton side of the Route 22 toll bridge on June 17. Commuters can expect even more headaches with toll bridge construction this week. The Easton-Phillipsburg Toll Bridge Rehabilitation Project is expected to be completed in spring 2015 and includes about 15 months of single-lane travel restrictions near the toll bridge in the area of the toll bridge east and west on Route 22, the release says.
The work is going to be spread over two years along each direction of Route 22 in the vicinity of the toll bridge until mid-December in 2013 and from March to December in 2014. The commission expects two lanes of travel will be restored in each direction of the toll bridge for three months during the winter of 2013-14, according to the release.
New maps advising motorists of the long-term single-lane traffic pattern and eastbound Route 22 traffic shifts for the Easton-Phillipsburg Toll Bridge Rehabilitation Project are available at www.drjtbc.org.
The new long-term traffic patterns will allow construction activities for the project to get fully underway on the toll bridge and on the Route 22 approaches leading to the bridge in Easton and Phillipsburg. The single-lane travel restrictions along Route 22 will extend beyond the work area, involving nearly 2.25 miles of the highway, the release states.
The new traffic patterns will include lane shifts eastbound on Route 22 and a shutdown of the ramp that allows traffic from Larry Holmes Drive and Route 611 to enter onto Route 22 east near the toll bridge’s Easton side, the release says.
The new Route 22 travel configuration will result in 10-foot lane widths on the toll bridge. There will also be short, narrow lane crossovers on Route 22 eastbound well in advance of and after the toll bridge, according to the release.
Route 22 motorists should anticipate traffic congestion and travel delays in both directions and are urged to use I-78 as an alternative. The commission does not recommend using the free bridge because it experiences heavy congestion during peak travel times.
Travel restriction are as follows:
• Route 22 Eastbound: Traffic will begin to be restricted to a single lane at milepost 336.4, which is slightly east of the 13th Street exit and slightly west of Cemetery Curve in Easton; the resulting single lane will proceed to slightly before Fourth Street where it will shift into the left westbound lane proceeding through the project area, crossing the toll bridge, and shifting back to the westbound side and two lanes near the toll plaza in Phillipsburg.
• Route 22 Westbound: Traffic will begin to be restricted to a single lane at point roughly 1,600 feet east of the toll plaza in Phillipsburg; the single lane will fan out to either two or three toll-collection lanes at the plaza, merging back to a single lane after the plaza, and then continuing as a single lane across the toll bridge and along Route 22 in Easton to a point shortly after Fourth Street, where it will resume as a two-lane road.
• On ramp from Larry Holmes Drive/Route 611 to Route 22 east: This ramp will be closed until mid-fall. A detour will be put into place to direct motorists to the nearby Second Street/Bushkill Street access ramp for Route 22 east.
• Second Street/Bushkill Street ramp to Route 22 east: This ramp will be extended through the work zone with a stop sign at the point where it will junction with Route 22 east. This ramp will remain open for the duration of time while the ramp at Larry Holmes Drive/Route 611 is closed.
• Trucks: No permit loads -- trucks exceeding weight, height and size limits -- are permitted. Trucks are strictly limited to 13-foot, 6-inch heights, 60-foot lengths, and maximum 80,000-pound loads.