Route 72 Widening Under Way in Barnegat, Stafford

The state Department of Transportation has begun construction on a widening project on Route 72 west in Stafford and Barnegat townships that will allow for a continuous 7.4-mile stretch of shoulder on the busy highway.

The $2.2 million project, which is expected to take about three months to complete, will also significantly change the intersection of Route 554 and Route 72 in Barnegat.

Contractor Joseph Defino Trucking Co., Inc. began preliminary work on the widening last week, the DOT announced today in a press release. When they're done, a 10-foot wide shoulder will run between Nautilus Drive in Stafford and Route 539 in Barnegat, a stretch that currently has portions with a narrower shoulder.

Included in the project is the elimination of the westbound merge lane at the intersection of Route 554 (Barnegat Road) and Route 72 in Barnegat. According to the DOT, the "slip ramp" that connects westbound 554 with 72 will be removed, and all westbound traffic on 554 will be directed to the "T" intersection with 72. 

Spokesman Tim Greeley said the widening project is an important improvement that will make for faster, safer coastal evacuations in the future. Route 72 is a major evacuation route and is the only way off Long Beach Island.

"It's been in the pipeline going back a couple of years," Greeley said, "but certainly the steps taken before and during Hurricane Irene magnified the importance of this project."

Greeley said construction will mainly be contained to the existing shoulder, so there should be little impact to traffic. Occasional lane shifts may be necessary, he said, but there will always be at least one westbound lane open. 

"We make every effort to ensure we get this work scheduled around peak travel times," said Greeley, and the project is expected to be completed in May before the arrival of major summer traffic.

Construction will also be coordinated with ongoing work on the Garden State Parkway bridges over Route 72, according to the DOT.

For day-to-day updates on construction, visit the DOT’s traffic information website www.511nj.org.