NEWARK, N.J. — Beginning Monday, March 24, NJ Transit is cutting ticket costs in half for travel from five stations shared by its Morristown and Montclair-Boonton lines to provide an alternative for commuters during the emergency closure of Interstate 80 in Wharton, N.J.
The highway has been closed in both directions because of sinkholes likely caused by collapsing mines beneath the roadway, and repairs could take up to eight weeks, officials said today (Saturday, March 22). The eastbound lanes have been closed since February, while the westbound lanes were closed Thursday (March 20) after a second sinkhole opened in the second lane, clogging nearby surface streets with detoured traffic. A survey by the New Jersey Department of Transportation has determined there might be as many as 90 locations under I-80 with voids or areas of instability because of the defunct mines.
NJ Transit will be providing free inbound travel from its Hackettstown, Mount Olive, Netcong, Lake Hopatcong, and Mount Arlington stations — all west of the highway closure — with transfer tickets for those changing trains to reach New York’s Penn Station. Customers will still have to purchase tickets for their return trip.
“While we work around-the-clock to repair the roadway, we are providing every possible travel alternative including on NJ Transit trains,” Gov. Phil Murphy said in a press release. “By offering these discounts on the trains, we will get vehicles off the road and provide residents another option to get to work or school, and back home at the end of the day.” Said NJ Transit Board Chair and NJDOT Commissioner Fran O’Connor, “We recognize the major impact this situation has had on residents in the area. We are doing everything we can to encourage the use of the railroad to keep the region moving, while we work around-the-clock to complete the extensive repairs on this section of I-80 as quickly as we can.”
The 15-by-15-foot sinkhole that opened this week is the third to appear on I-80 in four months, WNYW-TV reports. A 40-by-40-foot hole opened in December and has been repaired; the 11-by-11-foot hole that closed the eastbound traffic lanes appeared in the roadway’s center lane on Feb. 10. The latest sinkhole appeared in the median at the site of the work on the eastbound lanes.
Meanwhile, construction work to restore service on the NJ Cutoff proceeds at a seemingly glacial pace…
A guess might be that it appears that there is going to be more sinkholes. Free fares get potential riders to believe that it is safer taking train instead of falling into another sink hole in the future.
Why are they giving free rides ? Why not just advertise and advise to use commuter rail instead of reducing fare box revenue ? Aren’t most public transportation systems in need of funds ? If the folks who get out of their cars and like the service they will stay.
It is way too late but the NJ road department engineers who designed I-80 should be tarred and feathered for not taking in account all the mines underneath the I-80 route.
If its like the original construction Of I-80 in Eastern PA, the problem could also be related to some construction companies being “mob” related and cheating on the construction and everything else that was involved.