Portions of Route 1 in Lawrence to be closed overnight next week

Route 1 southbound in Lawrence and the Business Route 1 northbound exit ramp will both be closed at times next week as part of a  construction project to replace two bridge decks on the Business Route 1 ramps, New Jersey Department of Transportation officials said today.

Beginning Monday night, March 20, the exit ramp from Route 1 northbound to Business Route 1 and Route 206/Strawberry Street will be closed each night from 9 p.m. until 6 a.m. the next morning. The work is expected to be completed by Thursday, March 23. NJDOT contractor South State, Inc., is scheduled to remove the median barrier in preparation for the upcoming bridge deck replacement work. The following signed detours will be in place to direct motorists to Whitehead Road during the overnight closures:

Detour (From 9 p.m. until 6 a.m. the next morning)

Vehicles on Route 1 northbound will need to stay right immediately following the Route 1 Business and Route/206/Strawberry Street/Lawrenceville exit. From Route 1 North, motorists will be directed to take the next exit onto Whitehead Road. At the fork on Whitehead Road, make a left and continue until the Route 1 Business/Brunswick Avenue intersection. Make a left onto Route 1 Business southbound/Brunswick Avenue and follow to the Brunswick Avenue Circle.

 

Beginning on Wednesday, March 22, Route 1 southbound after the Whitehead Road exit ramp will be closed each night from 10 p.m. until 5 a.m. the next morning. The work is scheduled to be completed by Saturday, March 25. The contractor will remove existing steel plates in preparation for the upcoming bridge deck replacement work. The following signed detours will be in place to direct motorists to Whitehead Road during the overnight closures:

Detour (From 10 p.m. until 5 a.m. the next morning)

Vehicles on Whitehead Road wishing to take Route 1 southbound will be directed to take Route 1 northbound, and make a U-Turn at Bakers Basin Road onto Route 1 southbound and follow the Route 1 southbound full closure detour. All vehicles on Route 1 southbound will be directed to exit onto Whitehead Road. From Whitehead Road, motorists will make a left at the fork and continue to the Route 1 Business traffic light intersection. At the intersection, make a left onto Route 1 Business southbound. Continue on Route 1 Business southbound/Brunswick Avenue until the Brunswick Avenue Circle. Take the Strawberry Street exit on the circle to continue back onto Route 1 southbound.

The $7.6 million federally funded project will replace two structurally deficient bridge decks on Business Route 1 over New York Avenue and the D&R Canal. One ramp is on Route 1 Business over New York Avenue, and the other is Route 1 Business over Route 1 southbound/D&R Canal. The project will replace the bridge decks with new pour-in-place concrete bridge deck panels, parapets, guide rails and lighting. The project will be completed in stages, with the majority of work being done overnight or on weekends.

The project, which began in the fall of 2016, is expected to be completed by summer 2018.