Which exits?

/No, seriously, which exits?

Joelogon: Which exits?

/No, seriously, which exits?

East Brunswick is Exit 9 & I'm pretty sure Mansfield is Exit 6.

Ground will be broken today on the $2.5 billion project. But motorists will face delays until the work is completed by 2014 never.

Fixed.

Has New Jersey ever completed a highway construction project?

Eddie Adams from Torrance: Ground will be broken today on the $2.5 billion project. But motorists will face delays until the work is completed by 2014 never.

Fixed.

Has New Jersey ever completed a highway construction project?

The new bridge over the Raritan in Perth Amboy opened last month. That's actually been a freakin' godsend.

Eddie Adams from Torrance: Has New Jersey ever completed a highway construction project?

They made good time with the Turnpike when they originally did it. They paid for it with tolls, which took decades. When the road was finally paid off, they removed doubled the tolls.

The only bottleneck on the NJ Turnpike is caused by having Pennsylvanians in the Left and Right lanes at the same time, typically going the same speed, which is always 10 under the speed limit, which on the parkway is 90mph

Too many IROC Cameros?

/16W

brigid_fitch: The new bridge over the Raritan in Perth Amboy opened last month. That's actually been a freakin' godsend.

And work on that started when I moved from NJ. In 2000.....

Can someone who works in road construction explain to me why road projects take so long to complete? There's a space of road near my place that has been "under construction" for over 3 years. I pass it at least twice a day, and often more. The lanes are closed off, but I never see any work being done. Not in the morning, not in the evening, not if I drive by in the middle of the day, or drive by late at night. Nor is there any sign of progress.

Why do state road departments close roads for years at a time, and then not do anything for long stretches of time?

I'm not being snarky. Is there a legit reason for this? Or is this just poor planning?

brigid_fitch: Joelogon: Which exits?

/No, seriously, which exits?

East Brunswick is Exit 9 & I'm pretty sure Mansfield is Exit 6.

It is. it's right where you can continue going south to Camden and DE, or break away to head into north Philly.

Also, while I enjoy the new bridge, it hasn't stopped the New Yorkers from stacking up all 4 right most lanes as they try to cut each other off to squeeze into the exit to Staten Island.

I don't think the rest of the world would care if NJ walled itself off from the world, and I'd be happy if the rest of the world stayed the fark out of NJ.

tiggerfan: brigid_fitch: The new bridge over the Raritan in Perth Amboy opened last month. That's actually been a freakin' godsend.

And work on that started when I moved from NJ. In 2000.....

I agree that construction on that has been ridiculously slow, but Eddie Adams from Torrance asked if any project had actually been completed.

Since I need to hit 287 on a regular basis, the new bridge, which gave a merge-free lane from Rte 9 traffic, really has made a huge difference.

brigid_fitch: I agree that construction on that has been ridiculously slow, but Eddie Adams from Torrance asked if any project had actually been completed.

Since I need to hit 287 on a regular basis, the new bridge, which gave a merge-free lane from Rte 9 traffic, really has made a huge difference.

Route 46 in Clifton is finally done I believe as well. And the fixing up of the Rt 35 bridge into Point Pleasant.

287 is still a mess near exit 1. I take that to the Turnpike daily going from work to class.

Well, crap.

/lives off Exit 8 in Hightstown
/WTF is Mansfield?

they'll just keep moving the bottleneck south until it is in delaware.

El Chode: The only bottleneck on the NJ Turnpike is caused by having Pennsylvanians in the Left and Right lanes at the same time, typically going the same speed, which is always 10 under the speed limit, which on the parkway is 90mph

Most likely this. I live out near Flemington and take 78 to work in Lebanon.. which is about 30 minutes from PA. The only reason there is ever traffic on 78 is people from Pennsylvania.

As someone who has had to go through that area where it suddenly goes from 6 lanes in one direction to 3 or whatever it is, and all the merging insanity that goes with it, good.

However, that's really going to suck over the next few years. Or eternity, depending on how long this takes.

/NYer who needs to use that road to go anywhere south
//Don't do it often, but it always irritates me

Along with reducing congestion, Gov. Corzine says the project will also provide an economic stimulus MAKE WORK.

It's farking make-work, people. Don't let your politicians tell you every dollar spent by the government is the best way that dollar can be used for f-ing economic stimulus. I'm sure this needs to be done, yada, yada, just don't blow smoke up our collective asses.

the george washington bridge is the real bottleneck getting into joisey.
after dat, i-95 is REASONABLY smooth sailing


the missus and me really enjoyed the joisey shore a couple of years ago

brukmann: Along with reducing congestion, Gov. Corzine says the project will also provide an economic stimulus MAKE WORK.

It's farking make-work, people. Don't let your politicians tell you every dollar spent by the government is the best way that dollar can be used for f-ing economic stimulus. I'm sure this needs to be done, yada, yada, just don't blow smoke up our collective asses.

have you ever driven on the turnpike?

We southerners laugh at your turnpikes, and faster talking than the next guy, I can drive better and faster than you can while tail gating attitudes.

Dental_FlossTycoon: We southerners laugh at your turnpikes, and faster talking than the next guy, I can drive better and faster than you can while tail gating attitudes.

that's fine and dandy as long as you stay out of the left lane.

Years ago, Robert Heinlein wrote a short story called, "The Roads Must Roll", with the idea that the highways would move, while people on them would stand still. Oddly enough, in a limited sense, this might be the way to end freeway bottlenecks.

Bottlenecks are usually short stretches of road, most often less than a quarter mile, that lock up miles of road around them. If during peak times, drivers could drive their cars on a rolling section of road and just ride on a conveyor belt at 10-20 mph, the bottleneck would be broken, and they would get to their destination faster.

This would work in practice like conveyor sidewalks in long airport concourses, that take pedestrians to their destination much faster than making everybody walk. The only addition would be a safety pull out lane at the end of the rolling road for vehicles whose engines had died. They could shift into neutral and the momentum would carry them into the pull out lane.

Other advantages would be that it would actually *save* fuel, compared to hundreds of idling cars and trucks in a traffic jam. Ideally, just a single lane for smaller vehicles would roll, leaving the middle of the freeway open for larger, heavier vehicles.

valencia: I'm sure this needs to be done, yada, yada, just don't blow smoke up our collective asses.

have you ever driven on the turnpike?

Yes, and you'll note the highlighted portion. I was taking offense at calling ALL spending during a recession stimulus.

As in, I farking got in my car and used gas today. Stimulus. I bought a gyro. Stimulus. I picked up a free paper. Stimulus. (hey, even the free paper makes money off distribution numbers!) I'm a great American.

You still live in New Jersey and still biatch about the traffic?

ShawnDoc: Can someone who works in road construction explain to me why road projects take so long to complete? There's a space of road near my place that has been "under construction" for over 3 years. I pass it at least twice a day, and often more. The lanes are closed off, but I never see any work being done. Not in the morning, not in the evening, not if I drive by in the middle of the day, or drive by late at night. Nor is there any sign of progress.

Why do state road departments close roads for years at a time, and then not do anything for long stretches of time?

I'm not being snarky. Is there a legit reason for this? Or is this just poor planning?

Partially. The other reason is that you don't tell hourly employees to get something done in a hurry. It's not in their best interest, and they aren't stupid - they know that the longer they take on a job, the more they get paid/better job security they have.

My WAG would be it's 60% poor planning and 40% deliberate foot-dragging by the contractors. That's a Wild-Ass-Guess, folks, so don't say nothin' about "citations".

Am I reading this right? They broke ground today? As in, the day before the July 4th weekend?

Someone please tell me this was a ceremonial groundbreaking and actual lane closures and whatnot won't begin until Tuesday. Please?

brukmann: Along with reducing congestion, Gov. Corzine says the project will also provide an economic stimulus MAKE WORK.

It's farking make-work, people. Don't let your politicians tell you every dollar spent by the government is the best way that dollar can be used for f-ing economic stimulus. I'm sure this needs to be done, yada, yada, just don't blow smoke up our collective asses.

8.5/10. It's got a retro vibe from a few news cycles ago that makes the troll not so obvious. A whiff of post inauguration whargarble with a strong head of psuedo-economic populism adds a nice finish.

whammer: Years ago, Robert Heinlein wrote a short story called, "The Roads Must Roll", with the idea that the highways would move, while people on them would stand still. Oddly enough, in a limited sense, this might be the way to end freeway bottlenecks.

Bottlenecks are usually short stretches of road, most often less than a quarter mile, that lock up miles of road around them. If during peak times, drivers could drive their cars on a rolling section of road and just ride on a conveyor belt at 10-20 mph, the bottleneck would be broken, and they would get to their destination faster.

This would work in practice like conveyor sidewalks in long airport concourses, that take pedestrians to their destination much faster than making everybody walk. The only addition would be a safety pull out lane at the end of the rolling road for vehicles whose engines had died. They could shift into neutral and the momentum would carry them into the pull out lane.

Other advantages would be that it would actually *save* fuel, compared to hundreds of idling cars and trucks in a traffic jam. Ideally, just a single lane for smaller vehicles would roll, leaving the middle of the freeway open for larger, heavier vehicles.

But if the roads moved at 10 to 20 mph there would be A wholes that would drive at 20 mph on those 20 mph roads (40 mph) and try to pass you wile you were sitting still at 20 mph. It's like the idjuts that run up escalators and want to get around. There would still be a need for hand grenades.

SlothB77: they'll just keep moving the bottleneck south until it is in delaware.

That's OK with me, as long as Delaware gets more toll money from the higher traffic flow.

/DE resident

SlothB77: they'll just keep moving the bottleneck south until it is in delaware Florida.

FTFY

How about building some more Hudson River crossings so we don't have 90 minute delays getting into/leaving Manhattan at 1:00 in the afternoon on a Tuesday.


/how about I move somewhere nice?

The reason why we have a bottleneck at 8A is due to all of the out-of-towners looking at the map and saying, "Wow! The Turnpike is a straight shot from NYC to Baltimore!" Then all of the people who do know better end up getting off at Exit 9 and end up clogging up 130.

The REAL bottleneck is at Exit 1. Traffic going into there can be backed up all the way up to Exit 4, causing cops to force everyone off the Turnpike at Exit 4, putting them all on 295. 15 mile backups into Exit 1 simply for tolls is not uncommon on getaway days. I remember one Thursday night, a huge snowstorm was predicted, and traffic was backed up the entire length of the turnpike until midnight.

Fark: The storm never came.

Pfff. Talk to me when they get around to fixing the 46/3 bottleneck

I have driven the length of the new jersey turnpike hundreds of times. Blaming the problem on PA drivers is ridiculous.New Jersey has more than its share of bad drivers.

People driving in the passing lane and not allowing cars to merge are generally the source of traffic problems. I would love to avoid driving in NJ altogether, but you have to go through it to get to NYC and New England.

JJRRutgers: The reason why we have a bottleneck at 8A is due to all of the out-of-towners looking at the map and saying, "Wow! The Turnpike is a straight shot from NYC to Baltimore!"

That's not the reason, and it should be that straight shot.

The reason for the bottleneck is simple traffic dynamics: five southbound lanes merge into three lanes, without any significant decrease in traffic. Moving the merge south will help some, as more of the southbound traffic will drop off, but the real problem is that this narrowing takes place at all.

The Turnpike's original design predated the Interstate Highway System, so it was not planned as part of I-95... yet, if you head south from New York thinking you're on I-95, the signs lead you down the Turnpike.

The Turnpike should be I-95, all the way from Churchman's Marsh in Delaware to the George Washington Bridge, but it is not.
Instead, there is a weird discontinuity in I-95. If you follow 95 north from Baltimore to NYC, you will go through Philly, turn east into New Jersey and then south on I-295 to Trenton, and finally waste all kinds of time driving east on I-195 to end up on the Turnpike.

The right thing to do would be to change the route numbers. I-95 should cross the Delaware Memorial Bridge and become the Turnpike. I-295, halfway up NJ to Trenton and that weird loop back into Pennsylvania, can stay the same... except that the other side of that loop, the highway passing through Wilmington and Philly should also be named I-295.
Of course, if they did that, they would need to widen the Turnpike all the way south to Delaware, thus eliminating the Exit 1 bottleneck as well.

El Chode: brigid_fitch: Joelogon: Which exits?

/No, seriously, which exits?

East Brunswick is Exit 9 & I'm pretty sure Mansfield is Exit 6.

It is. it's right where you can continue going south to Camden and DE, or break away to head into north Philly.

Also, while I enjoy the new bridge, it hasn't stopped the New Yorkers from stacking up all 4 right most lanes as they try to cut each other off to squeeze into the exit to Staten Island.

I don't think the rest of the world would care if NJ walled itself off from the world, and I'd be happy if the rest of the world stayed the fark out of NJ.

Have you been on it lately? As of about 2 weeks ago the entire northbound side of the bridge splits to 4 lanes right and 5 or 6 lanes to the left so all the fist pumpers going back to the Rock are isolated...stay left and you're good to go.



I'm glad they're finally fixing that part of the Turnpike, when they're done in five years, it'll be time to expand it again!

JJRRutgers: The reason why we have a bottleneck at 8A is due to all of the out-of-towners looking at the map and saying, "Wow! The Turnpike is a straight shot from NYC to Baltimore!" Then all of the people who do know better end up getting off at Exit 9 and end up clogging up 130.

The REAL bottleneck is at Exit 1. Traffic going into there can be backed up all the way up to Exit 4, causing cops to force everyone off the Turnpike at Exit 4, putting them all on 295. 15 mile backups into Exit 1 simply for tolls is not uncommon on getaway days. I remember one Thursday night, a huge snowstorm was predicted, and traffic was backed up the entire length of the turnpike until midnight.

Fark: The storm never came.

I call BS on that, exit 4 is over 30 miles away in mount laurel. the real backup is caused by the megachange in delaware.

Eddie Adams from Torrance: Ground will be broken today on the $2.5 billion project. But motorists will face delays until the work is completed by 2014 never.

Fixed.

Has New Jersey ever completed a highway construction project?

The Expressway and the the turnpike back in 51 and 52, nothing since. costs and nimbyers stop anything from getting done.

ShawnDoc: Can someone who works in road construction explain to me why road projects take so long to complete? There's a space of road near my place that has been "under construction" for over 3 years. I pass it at least twice a day, and often more. The lanes are closed off, but I never see any work being done. Not in the morning, not in the evening, not if I drive by in the middle of the day, or drive by late at night. Nor is there any sign of progress.

Why do state road departments close roads for years at a time, and then not do anything for long stretches of time?

I'm not being snarky. Is there a legit reason for this? Or is this just poor planning?

Same question I always have. surprisingly delaware sticks to their time frames, though 95 always seems to be under construction.

FreakinB: As someone who has had to go through that area where it suddenly goes from 6 lanes in one direction to 3 or whatever it is, and all the merging insanity that goes with it, good.

However, that's really going to suck over the next few years. Or eternity, depending on how long this takes.

/NYer who needs to use that road to go anywhere south
//Don't do it often, but it always irritates me

my boy scout troop made the mistake of taking the turnpike on a sunday in august; we got stuck in that area going southbound for like 3 or 4 hours.

Dental_FlossTycoon: We southerners laugh at your turnpikes, and faster talking than the next guy, I can drive better and faster than you can while tail gating attitudes.

a southern that can drive? about as rare as a non-snobby yankee fan.

I swear the prize in a grits box is a driver's license.

onecanshort: El Chode: brigid_fitch: Joelogon: Which exits?

/No, seriously, which exits?

East Brunswick is Exit 9 & I'm pretty sure Mansfield is Exit 6.

It is. it's right where you can continue going south to Camden and DE, or break away to head into north Philly.

Also, while I enjoy the new bridge, it hasn't stopped the New Yorkers from stacking up all 4 right most lanes as they try to cut each other off to squeeze into the exit to Staten Island.

I don't think the rest of the world would care if NJ walled itself off from the world, and I'd be happy if the rest of the world stayed the fark out of NJ.

Have you been on it lately? As of about 2 weeks ago the entire northbound side of the bridge splits to 4 lanes right and 5 or 6 lanes to the left so all the fist pumpers going back to the Rock are isolated...stay left and you're good to go.



I'm glad they're finally fixing that part of the Turnpike, when they're done in five years, it'll be time to expand it again!

I need to hit 287 to get home to Boonton. I gotta get in that mess of arrogance

soj4life: the real backup is caused by the megachange in delaware.

If by "the megachange in Delaware" you are referring to the merge from I-295 onto I-95, it's pretty much fixed. The southern end of I-295, which carries all traffic from the Delaware Memorial Bridge over to join I-95 South, can be a bit tight, but that's mostly due to people swerving from side to side because they have no farking idea which lane they belong in. Once you get past the US-13 interchange, however, things improve markedly: I-95 South was widened, so the lanes from I-295 that used to end abruptly now continue almost all the way down to the tollbooth at the Delaware-Maryland line...

...and then you're farked, but thanks for leaving us your money.

I'm counting the cars on the New Jersey turnpike

My pr0n name is Tom Seaview: soj4life: the real backup is caused by the megachange in delaware.

If by "the megachange in Delaware" you are referring to the merge from I-295 onto I-95, it's pretty much fixed. The southern end of I-295, which carries all traffic from the Delaware Memorial Bridge over to join I-95 South, can be a bit tight, but that's mostly due to people swerving from side to side because they have no farking idea which lane they belong in. Once you get past the US-13 interchange, however, things improve markedly: I-95 South was widened, so the lanes from I-295 that used to end abruptly now continue almost all the way down to the tollbooth at the Delaware-Maryland line...

...and then you're farked, but thanks for leaving us your money.

I spent the last year living just off Naamans road in DE. I'm not sure if DE drivers are shiatty on their own, or they're just totally scarred from having to live with the constant surge of PA drivers coming in for tax-free shopping and six packs o' beer.

That clusterfark of an intersection was horrible this past may when I drove to Rehoboth.

Great, they finish one project, Rt 18 around New Brunswick, and decide that the Turnpike needs to be messed up worse than it is. Thanks Jersey for making driving in our state worst than it is.

/The Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel was built faster than any of these road projects in NJ.

You do know this is part of a larger project where they will be rerouting I-95 at Bristol PA to connect to the NJT, building another turnpike bridge so one goes one way, and the other goes the other way (4-6 lanes in each direction I believe), and joining the two at Exit 6, right? :)

http://www.paturnpikei95.com/home.htm

This is part of a much larger project to finish I-95 and greatly expand the traffic capacity of the NJT to accommodate the extra drivers.

If they really want to alleviate traffic issues, they really could expand 195E at 7A all the way out to 9. Smart people take 33 to get to 9 and avoid the Parkway and 195 like the plague in the summer.

My pr0n name is Tom Seaview: JJRRutgers: The reason why we have a bottleneck at 8A is due to all of the out-of-towners looking at the map and saying, "Wow! The Turnpike is a straight shot from NYC to Baltimore!"

That's not the reason, and it should be that straight shot.

The reason for the bottleneck is simple traffic dynamics: five southbound lanes merge into three lanes, without any significant decrease in traffic. Moving the merge south will help some, as more of the southbound traffic will drop off, but the real problem is that this narrowing takes place at all.

The Turnpike's original design predated the Interstate Highway System, so it was not planned as part of I-95... yet, if you head south from New York thinking you're on I-95, the signs lead you down the Turnpike.

The Turnpike should be I-95, all the way from Churchman's Marsh in Delaware to the George Washington Bridge, but it is not.
Instead, there is a weird discontinuity in I-95. If you follow 95 north from Baltimore to NYC, you will go through Philly, turn east into New Jersey and then south on I-295 to Trenton, and finally waste all kinds of time driving east on I-195 to end up on the Turnpike.

The right thing to do would be to change the route numbers. I-95 should cross the Delaware Memorial Bridge and become the Turnpike. I-295, halfway up NJ to Trenton and that weird loop back into Pennsylvania, can stay the same... except that the other side of that loop, the highway passing through Wilmington and Philly should also be named I-295.
Of course, if they did that, they would need to widen the Turnpike all the way south to Delaware, thus eliminating the Exit 1 bottleneck as well.

Put in some pumps and let us pump our own gas, you DOUCHEBAGS!

/Never going there again.
//Ever.
///Allowing some left turns on city streets would be nice too. Losers.

You know I'm just waiting for 20 lane highways. It's getting to the point of ridiculousness now.

Ew, driving in Jersey.

kd1s: You know I'm just waiting for 20 lane highways. It's getting to the point of ridiculousness now.



Is 18 enough for ya?

/401 Toronto
//damn Canadians

401 Toronto

Jesus. Makes "artery" seem like a very appropriate term. And "vein", I guess, but that's not really something people say.

I'm lucky enough to live in a part of New Jersey far enough away from the Turnpike so that I don't have to use it too often. 287's my road, and it seems pretty useless for traveling anywhere besides the one or two places I usually need to go. If I were to use the Turnpike it would be to leave NJ, I suppose, and why would I want to do that...?

El Chode: onecanshort: El Chode: brigid_fitch: Joelogon: Which exits?

/No, seriously, which exits?

East Brunswick is Exit 9 & I'm pretty sure Mansfield is Exit 6.

It is. it's right where you can continue going south to Camden and DE, or break away to head into north Philly.

Also, while I enjoy the new bridge, it hasn't stopped the New Yorkers from stacking up all 4 right most lanes as they try to cut each other off to squeeze into the exit to Staten Island.

I don't think the rest of the world would care if NJ walled itself off from the world, and I'd be happy if the rest of the world stayed the fark out of NJ.

Have you been on it lately? As of about 2 weeks ago the entire northbound side of the bridge splits to 4 lanes right and 5 or 6 lanes to the left so all the fist pumpers going back to the Rock are isolated...stay left and you're good to go.



I'm glad they're finally fixing that part of the Turnpike, when they're done in five years, it'll be time to expand it again!

I need to hit 287 to get home to Boonton. I gotta get in that mess of arrogance

Oh damn, that blows. If you're coming from far enough south, like 105 and below, take 18....into Piscataway...Hoes lane to Centennial to 287. shiat sucks for a few miles of lights on 18, but during the summer since Rutgers is out, it's not much of a problem.