DUI Lawyers in Wharton, NJ

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.

By 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.

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.

Two lanes of I-80 west are expected to reopen late Friday night, May 30, weather permitting, marking the first time the crucial east-west interstate highway has been open since a massive sinkhole closed it three months ago.

All of I-80s lanes have been closed at Exit 34 in Wharton since March 19, when a sinkhole opened on the median next to the westbound lanes.

“Sealant application on the concrete was completed Tuesday night,” said Stephen Schapiro, a state Department of Transportation spokesperson. “Paving is expected to be completed late Thursday night or early Friday morning.”

The weather-dependent work is striping the lanes, which cannot be done if the roadway is wet, he said.

The state has been stuck in yet another string of wet and cloudy days with temperatures running far below normal for late May. Storm systems are predicted to linger for the next few days.

Wet weather delayed the reopening of two eastbound lanes until May 21 because a protective sealant couldn’t be applied to concrete slabs that support the roadway.

If the westbound lanes can be striped, barrier curbs will be installed to separate the median work zone from the two lanes of traffic. The shoulder will be used as a travel lane in addition to the right lane.

The closure of the highway has plagued thousands of beleaguered drivers with having to detour either through Wharton or to use Route 46 and 10 as alternate routes for almost four months.

The next milestone for the DOT will be reopening all lanes of the highway by June 25.

Work on that part of the project is expected to be slower than on the eastbound and westbound sides, Schapiro said.

That is due to the added complexity of getting materials and workers safely to and from the smaller work zone on the highway median.

Also complicating that work is that live traffic is on either side of the work area. The speed limit will be reduced to 45 mph on I-80 westbound through the westbound work zone and remains 40 mph on I-80 eastbound in the work zone, he said.

The eastbound lanes were closed on Feb. 10 when the sinkhole first opened. That was the second sinkhole that opened since an initial sinkhole opened in the right lane and shoulder in December.

NJDOT officials told the state legislators that so far, repairs and other costs hit $25 million, which they hope to apply for federal funding to offset.

The closure of the state’s busiest east-west highway prompted a visit by U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy in March, who was accompanied by Gov. Phil Murphy. Duffy committed to doing “all we can” to get the highway reopened.

WHARTON — Two lanes on Route 80 eastbound at Exit 34 are on track to open late Wednesday night for the first time since March, despite all-day rain.

The New Jersey Department of Transportation said the right lane and shoulder will be used as travel lanes with a 40 mph speed limit once the road reopens. Spokesman Steve Schapiro told New Jersey 101.5 that the asphlalt cooling and hardening was completed Tuesday along with striping the lanes.

The last stage is the installation of a construction barrier and pinning it in place. Work equipment must also be demobilized and moved. Shapiro said rain may slow the work today but the lanes are expected to reopen. New Jersey 101.5 Chief Meteorologist Dan Zarrow said that Morris County could receive the heaviest of the rain on Wednesday and Thursday.

Getting around the delay

Work will continue through the Memorial Day weekend on the westbound lanes. Two lanes are scheduled to open sometime between Memorial Day and the end of the month.

NJ Transit has offered a 50% discount on roundtrip train travel from Hackettstown, Mount Olive, Netcong, Lake Hopatcong & Mount Arlington to alleviate traffic. The agency said the discount would remain in place until all work is complete.

Route 80 first closed after Christmas after a 15-by-15 foot sinkhole opened up. After repairs were completed in under a week another sinkhole opened up on the opposite side of the road along with one in the westbound lanes. Detoured traffic created a nightmare for local businesses as Routes 10, 15 and 46 became the alternative for drivers who did not necessarily stop at their businesses.

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After months of frustration North Jersey drivers are in for a bit of relief as two eastbound lanes of Route 80 in Wharton are on track to reopen May 21.

Paving was completed on the morning of May 20, according to an emailed statement from NJDOT spokesperson Stephen Schapiro. Once the asphalt cools and hardens, the road will be striped, and a concrete barrier will be installed to separate traffic from the work zone in the median.

The two travel lanes, which will include the right lane as well as the shoulder, are on schedule to reopen late at night on May 21. Per Schapiro, repairs on I-80 west are ongoing. Two lanes are on schedule to open at the end of the following week, weather permitting.

All lanes in both directions are expected to reopen by June 25, according to an NJDOT advisory issued on May 16, which detailed the work left to be done on the I-80 repairs. The exact dates and times of the reopening is subject to weather, the agency said.

"The heavy rains this week and last week have affected the schedule as some of the work is weather dependent and cannot be done in the rain," read NJDOT's May 16 advisory. "There are two separate crews working concurrently – one on the eastbound side and one on the westbound side – to expedite repairs."

Per NJDOT, crews will continue working 24 hours a day until repairs are completed and the highway can be reopened. The agency reminded drivers to use the posted detours and not cut through local streets that are "unable to handle trucks and additional traffic."

A months-long sinkhole nightmare

This news comes after months of frustration for North Jersey drivers who have dealt with heavy traffic and detours since December when a first sinkhole was discovered and repaired on Route 80 east near Exit 34 in Wharton.

On Feb. 27, the eastbound lanes were closed after another void was found just 75 feet from the first one. Then, on March 19 another sinkhole closed the westbound lanes, bringing a portion of the interstate to a complete halt.

I-80 updates, detours and travel times

For information about detours, alternate routes and other options to minimize traffic congestion in the area, visit NJDOT's I-80 project web page at https://dot.nj.gov/transportation/commuter/roads/i80/.

A Route 80 travel time page has also been added to www.511NJ.org to inform drivers of the current travel times on the detour and alternate routes.

Motorists can follow NJDOT social media for updates via X, formerly Twitter, at @NewJerseyDOT, the NJDOT Facebook page or Instagram at @NewJersey.DOT.

Drivers will have some much needed relief from construction closures now that the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) has completed a timely project on the Northwest side of San Antonio. The agency opened a new flyover ramp at the Loop 1604 and Interstate 10 Interchange on Monday, June 2, as part of its to increase safety and traffic flow on Texas roads.

As of 5 a.m. this morning, drivers heading westbound on Interstate 10 have two lanes connecting them toward Loop1604. The new ramp, which has been nearly three years in the making, is located near The Shops at La Cantera and The Rim area.

Drivers can see the ramp at Interstate 10 by its entry point near UTSA Bouleverard. Folks will need to pass Hausman and De Zavala roads to enter that part of the interstate. Once on the ramp, travelers can depart it via the Kyle Seale Parkway exit. From there, they will be able to access the Loop 1604 westbound frontage road.

"I am very excited to celebrate the opening of the first flyover ramp of the Loop 1604 North Expansion," Texas Transportation Chairman J. Bruce Bugg Jr. previously told MySA. "This milestone signifies major progress as part of our work on the Texas Clear Lanes initiative to improve mobility and tackle congestion on the most congested corridors in the state."

The unveiling marks the second flyover ramp to open in the past six months, TxDOT says. The first, which opened in December 2024, connects residents heading eastbound on Loop 1604 to the westbound lanes of I-10. A third flyover is set to open later this year, and all eight flyovers in TxDOT's

"The Loop 1604 North Expansion is a $1.4 billion investment designed to improve mobility and reduce congestion along 23-miles of the corridor across north Bexar County. The project is planned in six separate segments with four segments currently under construction," TxDOT spokesperson Jennifer Serold previously told MySA.

As of Monday, May 12, the transportation agency reported the following progress on other sections of Loop 1604:

Segment 2 (Loop 1604 & Interstate 10 Interchange): 62% complete

Segment 3 (Interstate 10 to US 281): 82% complete

Segment 4 (US 281 to Redland Road): 23% complete

The fifth segment, which spans from Redland Road to Judson Road, is expected to be completed by 2028, . Learn more about this project .