Route 1 ramp in Mercer County to be shut for 8 weeks

UPDATE: 8-week Route 1 ramp closure postponed by weather

TRENTON — Commuters through Mercer County will be faced with the partial closure of a major intersection starting on Saturday.

The Department of Transportation will shut the southbound Route 1 ramp at Exit 67 from Route 295 South/Route 95 North in Lawrence starting 7 a.m. for eight weeks in order to replace a deck and resurface the highway.

Both the north and southbound ramps will be closed on Saturday between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. for prep work. The northbound ramp will then reopen and remain accessible for the duration of the project.

"The DOT goes through and services all our bridges over time and it's this bridge's time," said spokesman Kevin Israel. "We do preventative maintenance to avoid there being problems," adding that there was no emergency need to do the work.

The ramp project, with a $4 million price tag, is expected to be closed until March. Drivers will be detoured to Exit 65A for Sloan Avenue in Hamilton where drivers can get to Route 1 from Route 295 northbound.

Recalling the traffic delays that developed at the Route 1 exit before most of the the traffic lights were taken off Route 1 and the closing of the northbound exit at the Wegman's shopping center, Israel recognizes that drivers will be inconvenienced.

"We try to schedule all of our projects to minimize the impact on traffic," Israel said.

NOTE: The story was updated to reflect updated information from the DOT that only the southbound ramp will be closed.

Contact reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com.