Route 70 eastbound closures
planned in Evesham Township

(Trenton) - The New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) today announced a series of overnight closures on Route 70 eastbound as part of the Route 70/73 Marlton Circle reconfiguration in Evesham Township, Burlington County.

Beginning Monday night, September 13, NJDOT will close Route 70 eastbound overnight for approximately one mile for five consecutive nights, from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. the following morning. The Route 73 southbound to Route 70 eastbound left-turn movement will also be closed during the same time periods. The closures are necessary to erect a bridge girder for the new Route 73 overpass being constructed at this location.

The following detours will be in place during these overnight closures:

• Route 70 eastbound motorists will be detoured onto Old Marlton Pike west to Centre Boulevard south through the intersection with Route 73 to Maple Avenue to Route 70 eastbound.

• Route 73 southbound motorists seeking to access Route 70 eastbound will continue south to the ramp for Brick Road to make a U-turn to Route 73 northbound to the ramp for Route 70 eastbound.

In April, NJDOT effectively eliminated the old traffic circle through the activation of three temporary traffic signals at the realigned intersections of Route 70 with Route 73; the Route 73 northbound/West Main Street ramp to Route 70 eastbound and westbound; and Old Marlton Pike with Centre Boulevard. Activating the traffic signals allowed NJDOT to create a temporary at-grade intersection to handle traffic as construction efforts remain focused on elevating the profile of Route 73 and constructing the new bridge/overpass over Route 70. The new traffic pattern will remain in place until next spring, at which time Route 73 traffic will be shifted onto the new overpass.

The $63 million interchange improvement project, designed to reduce congestion and improve safety, is eliminating the existing traffic circle and replacing it with a new overpass carrying Route 73 over Route 70. The two highways will be connected via the construction of new local exit and entrance ramps. The Marlton Circle elimination project began in April 2009 and remains on schedule for completion in winter 2011.

Variable message signs are in place on Route 70 and 73 to inform motorists of all planned changes in traffic operations during construction. Construction information and real-time traffic updates are available at www.511nj.org.