Drivers heading to the Jersey Shore could eventually see some relief from summer traffic jams as transportation officials prepare for a $400 million project to add a third lane along 12 miles of the Atlantic City Expressway.
The South Jersey Transportation Authority plans to widen the expressway in Camden and Gloucester counties, adding a third lane beginning just before the Route 42 interchange and continuing to milepost 31.6.
The project is expected to be completed by 2034, with officials hoping the additional capacity will make travel times more predictable, particularly during busy summer weekends.
“That investment is about creating capacity and providing motorists with a safer and more reliable trip,” said Stephen Dougherty, executive director of the South Jersey Transportation Authority.
While the full expansion is years away, drivers could see the first improvements as soon as next summer.
At the Sicklerville Road exit, where traffic frequently backs up onto Route 42 and the Atlantic City Expressway, officials plan to add another right-turn lane.
The change would allow drivers to make a right turn without waiting for the traffic light, potentially reducing backups at one of the highway’s trouble spots.
“This would then allow us to clear the highway quicker. It’ll also help out when we actually get to that point in the project,” said Daniel Corrigan Jr., chief engineer for the South Jersey Transportation Authority.
The authority says demand on the expressway continues to grow, making additional capacity necessary to improve traffic flow.
Dougherty said more predictable travel times could also benefit Shore businesses and visitors.
“If I know I can spend an extra hour getting dinner or walking the beach or riding the amusement park rides or whatever the case might be … there’s economic value to that. There’s personal value to that. There’s memories that come with that,” Dougherty said.
Rep. Donald Norcross, a New Jersey Democrat, also expressed frustration with the traffic that can bring Shore-bound drivers to a standstill.
“It just takes one brake check. One accident. One Pennsylvania driver failing to stay in the right-hand lane!… As equal as the third lane, Pennsylvania, please stay to the right unless you’re passing!” Norcross said.
While transportation officials believe the expansion will improve travel times, one Rutgers University professor says widening highways doesn’t always solve congestion.
Robert Noland, director of the Voorhees Transportation Center at Rutgers University, studies a phenomenon known as “induced demand,” in which adding road capacity can encourage more people to drive.
“More people will travel because you’ve reduced the travel times and it will reach a new equilibrium with more people. if you have other objectives, maybe to have more people travel, then maybe it makes sense,” Noland said.
That means the additional lane could initially reduce congestion but eventually attract more drivers, potentially bringing traffic levels back up.
The new lane will be built within the expressway’s existing median, and the South Jersey Transportation Authority says traffic disruptions during construction should be limited.
With the project not expected to wrap up until 2034, drivers will have to wait several more years before they can use the new third lane.
For now, transportation officials are betting the $400 million investment will make the drive to the Jersey Shore safer, smoother and more predictable.