EWING, NJ – The Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission today announced that it plans to carry its portion of I-95/I-295 redesignation signing changes later this week in the vicinity of the Scudder Falls Bridge.
The work dovetails on the progress that the New Jersey Department of Transportation has achieved in redesignating the Mercer County, N.J. segment of I-95 as I-295 over the past three months.
The Commission is responsible for redesignating only a small portion of I-95, about 1.5 miles from just beyond the Bear Tavern Road/County Route 579 interchange (new I-295 Exit 75/old I-95 Exit 2) and the Taylorsville Road/New Hope-Yardley interchange (current I-95 Exit 51/new I-295 Exit 10). The roadway segment includes the Scudder Falls Bridge, which is currently the focus of 4-1/2-year replacement project.
The Commission’s redesignation signing work will involve 56 temporary overlays of existing signs along I-95 in New Jersey, at the Scudder Falls Bridge, and in the vicinity of the bridge’s two flanking interchanges. Work is scheduled to be performed (weather permitting) from 3 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday, March 23.
The work will involve rolling traffic slowdown and single-lane closures. The travel restrictions will be staged so as not to interfere with peak commuter travel periods, which are 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. for travel from Pennsylvania to New Jersey and 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. for travel from New Jersey to Pennsylvania.
I-95/I-295 Redesignation Background
The Commission work is part of a broader bi-state, five-agency effort to redesignate a roughly 20-mile portion of I-95 in Mercer County, N.J. and Bucks County, PA. as I-295. The redesignation is needed because I-95 will follow a new route from Pennsylvania to New Jersey once the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission completes its Pennsylvania Turnpike/I-95 Interchange Project (currently projected to occur sometime in fall 2018).
Once the interchange is opened to traffic, I-95 will be rerouted easterly from its new interchange with the Pennsylvania Turnpike/I-276 in Bristol Township, PA., crossing the Delaware River-Turnpike Toll Bridge into New Jersey where it will then follow the New Jersey Turnpike north to George Washington Bridge and New York State.
The new interchange and resulting highway redesignation will eliminate I-95’s missing link in New Jersey, making the interstate highway continuous for the first time from Florida to Maine.
The redesignation of the orphaned I-95 segment in Mercer County, N.J. and Bucks County, PA. was approved in May 2015 by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) after various alternatives were presented to the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) Special Committee on U.S. Route Numbering. The approval letter may be viewed at this address: http://i95link.outreachpress.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/15/2018/01/5-20-15_Redesignation-Approval.pdf
The redesignation work is already well underway and involves the renumbering of seven interchanges in New Jersey and four interchanges in Pennsylvania. The work is being carried out under three phases:
- Phase 1 – January through March – NJDOT replaces signs starting from the Princeton Pike interchange (new I-295 Exit 68/old I-95 Exit 8) to the Bear Tavern Road/County Route 579 interchange (new I-295 Exit 75/old I-95 Exit 2).
- Phase 2 – Late March – DRJTBC installs overlays on existing signs from the Bear Tavern Road/County Route 579 interchange (new I-295 Exit 75/old I-95 Exit 2) to the Taylorsville Road/New Hope-Yardley interchange (current I-95 Exit 51/new I-295 Exit 10).
- Phase 3 – Spring to Fall 2018 – Signs at the four Pennsylvania interchanges through to the new interchange I-95/PA Turnpike/I-276 interchange and across to the New Jersey Turnpike are replaced or installed. This work will involve the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) and the New Jersey Turnpike Authority.
More Information
- The Commission has created a specific webpage for its I95/I-295 redesignation signing work: drjtbc.org/project/I-295signs
- A specific webpage has been created for the multi-agency I-95/I-295 redesignation signing process: I95link.com
