When will Route 15 reopen? Here's the latest as Morris, Sussex drivers battle huge delays
North Jersey motorists fumed Wednesday over the heavy traffic and detours around Route 15, after concerns about a bridge in Jefferson led the state to abruptly close the highway’s southbound lanes.
Local officials said they didn’t know when the road would be reopened, while the state Department of Transportation did not provide a timeline.
“We are doing everything we can to push NJ DOT to expedite the repair, construct a temporary bridge, and do whatever it takes to open the bridge,” Jefferson Mayor Eric Wilsusen wrote on his Facebook page Wednesday.
“Horrible,” was how he described the ensuing delays and spillover traffic that snarled local roads.
On Monday, the DOT announced a “single lane closure” as part of an $11.6 million replacement of the bridge that crosses the Rockaway River near Berkshire Valley Road. The agency said in a news release that travelers would be notified of lane or ramp closures in advance.
The project is meant to “improve the roadway geometry and improve sight distance,” the state said.
Bridge inspection led to Route 15 closure
But plans changed after a state review found structural problems, Wilsusen wrote. “NJ DOT officials came out to do a further inspection after the lane closure, hoping to keep the one lane open, but they discovered it was still shifting,” the mayor said of the bridge.
“Around 2 PM, NJ DOT decided to close the bridge due to safety concerns.”
The post added that the mayor and the DOT were working on a plan to solve the issue. “We do not have any timeline for when this will be resolved again, contrary to some who have put out dates and timelines they have heard,” he added.
Latest from NJDOT: 'Work continues'
In its initial release on Monday, the DOT said the bridge replacement was expected to be completed in the fall of 2025. An updated statement issued Tuesday afternoon changed that to say the work “will advance in stages to ease impact on motorists.”
In an email to the Daily Record Wednesday, the agency said, "Work continues on the project to replace the 124-year-old Route 15 southbound bridge over the Rockaway River, which began last summer. Engineers are conducting a structural evaluation. The bridge will remain closed and detoured at this time."
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Sussex County Sherriff Michael Strada said on his Facebook page that he was told the highway would be “closed indefinitely ... Drivers are strongly encouraged to plan an alternate route.”
Route 15 South detour in place
The DOT said the following detour would be in effect:
- Motorists on Route 15 southbound wishing to take the bridge will be directed to take the ramp to Edison Road/Lake Hopatcong/Mount Arlington/U and Left Turns, which is approximately two miles north of the bridge
- Continue on Edison Road/CR 615
- Turn left onto Espanong Road/CR 615, which becomes Minnisink Road
- Turn left onto Berkshire Valley Road
- Take the ramp for Route 15 southbound
The DOT said the replacement bridge will be a "single-span concrete box beam structure with two, 12-foot-wide travel lanes, 10-foot-wide inside and outside shoulders, and sidewalks on both sides of the bridge."
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