WHARTON, N.J. (1010 WINS) – A sinkhole that has closed all eastbound lanes of Interstate-80 through a stretch of New Jersey since last week will take an additional three weeks to assess and repair, an official said Monday.
The closure began last Monday after crews were called to a “depression in the center lane” on the eastbound side of I-80 at Exit 34/Route 15 in Wharton, Morris County.
Crews were conducting boring tests last Monday night when an 11-by-11-foot sinkhole opened up at a depth of four feet. Roadway testing has been ongoing since then to determine the extent of the repairs necessary.
On Monday, Wharton Mayor Bill Chegwidden wrote on Facebook that “DOT has found other problems with the integrity of the roadway.”
“The state is estimating another 3 weeks of closure,” Chegwidden said in the post, which also included an up-close photo of the sinkhole.
This sinkhole is just 75 feet away from the spot where an even larger sinkhole emerged along I-80 eastbound in December.
After that sinkhole formed on Dec. 26, crews worked “around the clock” for four days to fill it in and patch the roadway, sparking major traffic issues.
Officials determined the 40-by-40-foot sinkhole was caused by the collapse of an abandoned mineshaft.
As for the latest sinkhole, the DOT said Friday that a detour would remain in place for the time being as testing is done on the roadway during the emergency repairs.
The DOT also implemented an additional detour at Exit 34 at the request of local officials, whose communities were being impacted by increased traffic from the initial detours. Additionally, state police began manually controlling several traffic signals on Route 10, Route 46 and Route 15 during rush hour to improve traffic flow.
Here are the three detours currently in place by the DOT:
I-80 westbound Detour:
• Motorists on I-80 westbound will be directed to take Exit 34B to Route 15 north/Jefferson/Sparta
• Keep left on Route 15 northbound
• Use the left two left lanes at Pondview Drive to make a U-turn onto Route 15 southbound
• Stay right to take the ramp to I-80 westbound
I-80 eastbound Exit 34 Detour:
• Motorists on I-80 eastbound will be directed to take Exit 34 to Route 15/Wharton/Dover/Sparta
• Turn left following signs for Wharton
• Turn left onto East Dewey Avenue/CR 642 eastbound
• Turn left onto Route 15 Northbound
• Stay right to take the ramp to I-80 eastbound
New I-80 eastbound Exit 34 Detour:
• Motorists on I-80 eastbound are being directed to take Exit 34 to Route 15/Wharton/Dover/Sparta
• At the end of the ramp, stay right following signs for Route 15/Jefferson/Dover/Sparta/Picatinny Arsenal
• Stay in the right lane on North Main Street following signs for Route 15 North/Jefferson/Sparta
• Bear right toward Route 15 northbound/Picatinny Arsenal
• At the traffic signal, merge onto Route 15 northbound
• Stay left, following signs for Pondview Drive/U and Left Turns
• Using both lanes, make a U-turn at the Pondview Drive traffic signal and merge onto Route 15 southbound
• Stay left to take the exit to I-80 eastbound