Retaining wall sheeting at the Essex Ave overpass.
Temporary retaining wall along 42 North.
Temporary retaining wall along 42 North.
Temporary retaining wall along 42 North.
Bell road overpass. You can see the forms being used the build the new concrete support. This is the I295 north bound side. The one on the other side is also being built and is a little behind this one in it’s construction.
Here is a map showing the current major work areas.
Red: The Bell Road bridge over 295 is being re-constructed. The half of the bridge nearest Rt 168 has been demolished and they have started to construct the new supports at either side of the bridge.
Yellow: Temporary retaining walls have been installed in this area in preparation for the construction of permanent walls.
Blue: Retaining wall construction.
Green: Temporary retaining walls have been constructed along here in preparation for the construction of permanent walls.
White: Retaining wall and drainage work.
Grey: Reconstruction of the bridge over Essex Ave has begun.
Here are some news article about the Direct Connection project.
2/21/2013 - Residents review massive project to improve I-295, I-76, Route 42 interchange
2/25/2013 - I-295, Route 42 interchange problems began in the 1950s
3/11/2013 - I-295, Route 42 interchange project breaks ground
3/11/2013 - Ground Is Broken To Make I-295 A ‘Direct Connection’ Through Bellmawr
3/21/2013 - Direct Connect Project, Realigning Routes 295/42/76, Gets Underway
5/4/2013 - Bellmawr residents close to I-295, I-76 overhaul describe 'nightmare' construction
I am not in the construction business but I have always been fascinated with it, especially with road construction. I find it particularly interesting when a major change need to be made to a road or intersection while still keeping the road usable. A project of this sort is just beginning in South Jersey and since I go through the construction area a lot I thought it would be interesting to document the process. Note that I am in no way an expert on this topic so these will just be my observations on the project.
So what is the goal of this project? Currently if you are going southbound on Interstate 295 you reach a point where the road splits with the left lanes taking you onto I76 towards Philadelphia. The right lanes go around a very sharp curve (often call the Al-Jo curve), momentarily join with I76/route 42 south, then go back onto I295 South bound. Coming north bound on I295 you run into a similar situation where the road momentarily joins with route 42 where you have to weave in with car coming north on Route 42 before the road continues north on I295.
Approximately 250,000 cars pass through this intersection every day (1) and the current configuration creates a major bottleneck and is the cause of many accidents. This project will correct this by creating a viaduct that will carry I295 over I76/Route 42 so that drivers will be able to go between the north and south sections of 295 without having to slow down or merge into another highway. Exit ramps will be constructed of reconfigured to make the connections between I295 and I76/Route 42.
Work began earlier this year and is scheduled to be complete in 2021.
More Information:
The NJDOT site about the project
Description of the changes that will be made during the project.
List of the current construction activities
(1) http://www.nj.com/camden/index.ssf/2013/03/i-295_route_42_interchange_pro.html
