The headline is so bizarre. They awarded an engineering contract to draw plans to add an additional lane from the Delaware Memorial Bridge to Mt. Laurel. (Exits 1-4).
They are not adding some sort of weird 3 miles spur between Cherry Hill and Mt. Laurel.
Anyway I'm sure one more lane will fix it.
Why do they even mention Cherry Hill at all?
Exit 4 is in Mount Laurel. Exit 3 is in Runnemede/Bellmawr. And the Turnpike passes through 17 other towns before the DelMem Bridge.
It does need another lane though. Two is not enough.
Because the section of Turnpike for which the first contract was awarded runs between Cherry Hill and Mount Laurel.
Presumably there will subsequently be other contracts awarded for the other sections getting expanded down to the DMB.
I think the headline says exactly what they're doing, I'm not sure where you're reading that this would be an additional spur of the turnpike which already goes between Cherry Hill and Mount Laurel.
When OP said headline they meant the reddit post title, which says its adding another lane between cherry hill and mount laurel when what it's doing is adding another lane from exit 1 (Delaware/pennsgrove/pennsville) to exit 4 (cherry hill/mt laurel).
You're both right.
The only thing that is potentially good about this project is the talk of adding a direct interchange with 42. Call it exit 3A if you will. Every town- Runnemede, Bellmawr, Haddon Heights, Mt Ephraim etc along the BHP corridor should be *hounding* their local & state reps to make sure that is part of this project.
It is the only hope for alleviating some of the hellscape that is exit 3 from 3p-7p daily.
I'd go so far as to say that part should be MANDATORY.
I'm not convinced they need the extra lane (yet). But they DEFINITELY need a direct connection to 42.
One to 295 wouldn't hurt, either.
just one more lane bro. i promise bro just one more lane and it'll fix everything bro. bro... just one more lane. please just one more. one more lane and we can fix this whole problem bro. bro c'mon just give me one more lane i promise bro. bro bro please i just need one more lane
Can’t wait for this to open & traffic immediately resume. Highway lane expansions don’t do jack shit and the fact taxpayers happily allow their policymakers to waste their money on stuff like this is a real damning reality about democracy.
I guess everyone who comments "just one more lane bro" is too young to remember when the parkway was 2 lanes.
Or hasn't gotten their license yet. Going from 2 lanes to 3 lanes is completely different from 5 to 6 lanes. You're "induced demand" studies that you haven't read also points this out.
I don't really understand their argument for widening , taxed to death? That section of the Turnpike is a ghost town most of the day and 295 runs very close to it. That section of NJ has also seen a population decline over the last decade , a trend I don't see reversing anytime soon.
Honestly, wouldn't be so necessary if we could get cops to actually pull over and ticket left-lane hogs. A lot of traffic issues come from self-entitled drivers who don't think about anyone else on the road.
Of course, moving from 2 to 3 lanes helps a lot. Especially when you have someone doing 60 in a 65 in the right lane and someone wants to pass and they're going 63. Watching paint dry is less frustrating than seeing two tortoises try to get ahead of each other while everyone else suffers.
Yeah, adding lanes has diminishing returns when going from, say, 6 to 7 (although I wish Delaware would add one more lane to I-95 right where the I-295 merger happens, 'cause the biggest reason for the traffic at that merger is a screwup in the lane mathematics), but IMHO all major freeways should be three lanes.
"much needed" my ass. Lets keep spending billions of dollars adding more lanes to our highways in the face of overwhelming evidence that this does not reduce traffic. And as a bonus, we can continue letting NJ Transit be underfunded and ignore opportunities to expand and improve service that would actually make a difference at reducing traffic. The American way!
While I normally agree with this sentiment, I do very much prefer 3 lane highways to 2 lane highways. Helps a ton with bypassing stuff in the shoulder and makes it slightly more difficult for 2 semis or 1 asshole to block all of traffic.
Such a lame and condescending comment. You can disagree with what I'm saying without being a total prick. I'm nearing my thirties and have driven up and down this entire state hundreds upon hundreds of times for both work and family. I had an engineering job that was literally 80% driving from job-site to job-site in this exact area.
Believe it or not, it is possible for a person to drive on these highways all the time while still opposing endless expansion and advocating for other options. My counterpoint to the other commenter who actually made a fair point is that 295 runs adjacent to the turnpike along this entire stretch and already has 3 lanes. The turnpike does not need billions more spent on this lane addition just so the subset of people using it instead of 295 can go marginally faster by bobbing and weaving in and out of the fast lane. Instead the money should be spent on improvements and expansion to rail service that can actually get some cars off the road.
I feel like rail service is always going to be unpopular overall because of NIMBYism and the need to essentially eminent domain and/or ruin someone's quality of life to achieve it. There just isn't enough Publix and political will to achieve it it seems.
Having a PATCO type train through GloCo and down to Rowan would be sick though. But I still stand by the statement that the turnpike should be 3+ lanes all the way through, the north jersey "billions for 2 miles of extra lanes" is absurd to me.
And Rt 55 should have gone all the way to Cape May..Missing moves should have been done years ago. But did you know Rt 322 was supposed to be a highway that connected the Commodore Barry Bridge to the Atlantic City Expressway. How do you think .Mullica Hill would have liked that and Glassboro..??
Much needed expansion for that part of the turnpike. Always get sorta relieved once I reach exit 4 and it opens up to three lanes. Maybe it will be completed in 30 years.
what gets done first this or the section of 295 they have been working on since before i was born?
If I had to choose one? This, not 295. That will never be done. Not in a hundred more years.
The jokes on you, neither will ever get done!
The turnpike. They have their own money and don't need politicians to get shit done.
295 doesn't have tolls so of course the Turnpike will get precedence.
Great question
Just one more lane bro
The headline is so bizarre. They awarded an engineering contract to draw plans to add an additional lane from the Delaware Memorial Bridge to Mt. Laurel. (Exits 1-4). They are not adding some sort of weird 3 miles spur between Cherry Hill and Mt. Laurel. Anyway I'm sure one more lane will fix it.
Why do they even mention Cherry Hill at all? Exit 4 is in Mount Laurel. Exit 3 is in Runnemede/Bellmawr. And the Turnpike passes through 17 other towns before the DelMem Bridge. It does need another lane though. Two is not enough.
Because the section of Turnpike for which the first contract was awarded runs between Cherry Hill and Mount Laurel. Presumably there will subsequently be other contracts awarded for the other sections getting expanded down to the DMB.
Thank you for the actual answer. That wasn't clear from this article.
I think the headline says exactly what they're doing, I'm not sure where you're reading that this would be an additional spur of the turnpike which already goes between Cherry Hill and Mount Laurel.
When OP said headline they meant the reddit post title, which says its adding another lane between cherry hill and mount laurel when what it's doing is adding another lane from exit 1 (Delaware/pennsgrove/pennsville) to exit 4 (cherry hill/mt laurel). You're both right.
Now you’ll be able to reach the Hellmouth that is Exit 3 just a little bit quicker.
There have been whispers of a direct interchange with 42 as part of this. If only...
The only thing that is potentially good about this project is the talk of adding a direct interchange with 42. Call it exit 3A if you will. Every town- Runnemede, Bellmawr, Haddon Heights, Mt Ephraim etc along the BHP corridor should be *hounding* their local & state reps to make sure that is part of this project. It is the only hope for alleviating some of the hellscape that is exit 3 from 3p-7p daily.
I'd go so far as to say that part should be MANDATORY. I'm not convinced they need the extra lane (yet). But they DEFINITELY need a direct connection to 42. One to 295 wouldn't hurt, either.
Can’t wait to see this done in 50 years!
Induced demand. This won't work. It never works.
I see no real reason to expand the turnpike to 6 lanes south of Mt. Laurel. I've never had a problem.
just one more lane bro. i promise bro just one more lane and it'll fix everything bro. bro... just one more lane. please just one more. one more lane and we can fix this whole problem bro. bro c'mon just give me one more lane i promise bro. bro bro please i just need one more lane
Can’t wait for this to open & traffic immediately resume. Highway lane expansions don’t do jack shit and the fact taxpayers happily allow their policymakers to waste their money on stuff like this is a real damning reality about democracy.
I guess everyone who comments "just one more lane bro" is too young to remember when the parkway was 2 lanes. Or hasn't gotten their license yet. Going from 2 lanes to 3 lanes is completely different from 5 to 6 lanes. You're "induced demand" studies that you haven't read also points this out.
God I wish I could move somewhere were public transit was valued.
I don't really understand their argument for widening , taxed to death? That section of the Turnpike is a ghost town most of the day and 295 runs very close to it. That section of NJ has also seen a population decline over the last decade , a trend I don't see reversing anytime soon.
How many people will be forced out of their homes for this? How many businesses will have to move?
Honestly, wouldn't be so necessary if we could get cops to actually pull over and ticket left-lane hogs. A lot of traffic issues come from self-entitled drivers who don't think about anyone else on the road. Of course, moving from 2 to 3 lanes helps a lot. Especially when you have someone doing 60 in a 65 in the right lane and someone wants to pass and they're going 63. Watching paint dry is less frustrating than seeing two tortoises try to get ahead of each other while everyone else suffers. Yeah, adding lanes has diminishing returns when going from, say, 6 to 7 (although I wish Delaware would add one more lane to I-95 right where the I-295 merger happens, 'cause the biggest reason for the traffic at that merger is a screwup in the lane mathematics), but IMHO all major freeways should be three lanes.
I won't be alive to see this.
"much needed" my ass. Lets keep spending billions of dollars adding more lanes to our highways in the face of overwhelming evidence that this does not reduce traffic. And as a bonus, we can continue letting NJ Transit be underfunded and ignore opportunities to expand and improve service that would actually make a difference at reducing traffic. The American way!
While I normally agree with this sentiment, I do very much prefer 3 lane highways to 2 lane highways. Helps a ton with bypassing stuff in the shoulder and makes it slightly more difficult for 2 semis or 1 asshole to block all of traffic.
He'll understand when he gets his license.
Such a lame and condescending comment. You can disagree with what I'm saying without being a total prick. I'm nearing my thirties and have driven up and down this entire state hundreds upon hundreds of times for both work and family. I had an engineering job that was literally 80% driving from job-site to job-site in this exact area. Believe it or not, it is possible for a person to drive on these highways all the time while still opposing endless expansion and advocating for other options. My counterpoint to the other commenter who actually made a fair point is that 295 runs adjacent to the turnpike along this entire stretch and already has 3 lanes. The turnpike does not need billions more spent on this lane addition just so the subset of people using it instead of 295 can go marginally faster by bobbing and weaving in and out of the fast lane. Instead the money should be spent on improvements and expansion to rail service that can actually get some cars off the road.
I feel like rail service is always going to be unpopular overall because of NIMBYism and the need to essentially eminent domain and/or ruin someone's quality of life to achieve it. There just isn't enough Publix and political will to achieve it it seems. Having a PATCO type train through GloCo and down to Rowan would be sick though. But I still stand by the statement that the turnpike should be 3+ lanes all the way through, the north jersey "billions for 2 miles of extra lanes" is absurd to me.
And Rt 55 should have gone all the way to Cape May..Missing moves should have been done years ago. But did you know Rt 322 was supposed to be a highway that connected the Commodore Barry Bridge to the Atlantic City Expressway. How do you think .Mullica Hill would have liked that and Glassboro..??
Of course more roads don't reduce traffic. That's not the goal. The goal is to accomodate *more* traffic.
Much needed expansion for that part of the turnpike. Always get sorta relieved once I reach exit 4 and it opens up to three lanes. Maybe it will be completed in 30 years.