Finally, some good news -- for some New Jersey commuters.
Drivers and businesses who have been subjected to those dreaded I-80 closures in Wharton get a reprieve, with two eastbound lanes set to reopen Wednesday night (weather permitting) after extensive closures triggered by a series of sinkholes dating back to the winter.
New Jersey's Department of Transportation made the announcement Tuesday, after paving was completed. Lane striping and placing concrete barriers were the only things still left to be completed before the lanes could be reopened.
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WATCH HEREBy the end of May, the DOT says another two lanes going westbound are expected to reopen as well. All I-80 lanes at exit 34 have been closed since mid-March when a sinkhole opened next to the westbound median. The trouble, though, dates further back. The eastbound lanes were closed in February after a second sinkhole.
The first sinkhole that materialized back in December was the size of a four-story building and took four days to fix. Since then, many more voids have been found.
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SIGN UP Another one was found in February, about 75 feet away. In March, a third sinkhole forced westbound lanes to shut down.
Part of the problem stemmed from the sheer number of voids that had been found under I-80. It was first thought there were about 90 voids, but crews have since found about twice as many.
The most recent sinkhole developed on March 19, a 15x15 crater on the side of the road. It is believed abandoned underground mines may be responsible for the sinkholes having opened up.
The rest of the work is currently on schedule to reopen all lanes of I-80 by June 25.
