The New Jersey Motor Truck Association has issued a notice advising drivers and fleets to avoid westbound I-80 in New Jersey between the hours of 4 and 7 p.m., if at all possible.
The notice was sent to the American Trucking Associations, the Truckload Carriers Association and the Owner-Operator Independent Driver Association on Tuesday. Gail Toth, executive director of the New Jersey trucking group, said that media coverage of the I-80 closing had fallen off in recent days, but that a serious bottleneck near Exit 39 in Denville will remain through the summer.
“We appreciate that,” said New Jersey Department of Transportation spokesman John Dourgarian of the trucking association’s action. “We appreciate anything that can help reduce volume during those peak hours.”
I-80 was closed by an accident in the early morning hours of Friday, June 22, after the brakes of a container chassis reportedly locked, forcing the truck to a stop in a center lane of traffic.
According to the Daily Record of Morris County, a tanker truck carrying about 3,200 gallons of gasoline swerved to avoid the truck, hit the center divider and tipped onto the other side. A third truck rammed the stalled container and both of those trucks caught fire. The fire jumped to the other side of the highway and followed the path of leaking gasoline, which flowed into a creak under the road, ultimately destroying the westbound lanes of the bridge. Local news accounts described flames rising hundreds of feet in the air and explosions heard miles away.
Miraculously, no one died in the crash, though all three truck drivers were hospitalized, two with critical injuries.
Eastbound lanes of the highway opened later that day, but the westbound remained closed for almost an entire week while construction workers built a temporary wood bridge to carry traffic around the ruined structure. But 80 westbound at that point carries four lanes of traffic; the temporary bridge carries only two lanes. To make matters worse, the temporary bridge had to be closed briefly the day after it opened to repair pavement ruts caused by unusually hot weather and heavy traffic.
Since the closing, local residents have complained of long commuting delays, particularly during the 4 to 7 p.m. evening hours. The situation has stirred anti-truck sentiment in a state that has already banned interstate truck traffic from all but a sparse network of national highways, including I-80 and the New Jersey Turnpike. That ban is being disputed in court by the ATA and truckload carrier U.S. Xpress of Chattanooga, Tenn.
At their June 28 meeting, Morris County freeholders discussed banning all trucks from I-80 within their jurisdiction. Experts, however, say that I-80 traffic lies outside their jurisdiction and that such a closure is highly unlikely.
According to the N.J. DOT’s Dourgarian, a permanent bridge is expected to be finished in late September or early October. Until then, according to the N.J. Motor Truck Association’s notice:
Exit 39 will be closed until the bridge is repaired.
Speed reduced to 40 mph – strictly enforced.
No overweight vehicles allowed.
Maximum height is 20 feet and maximum width is 28 feet.
Information available on NJDOT Highway Advisory Radio at 530 AM.
