Route 70 construction in New Jersey nearing end after years of delays

Route 70 is the main artery cutting through Camden County, New Jersey, but it's been a bumpy ride for the tens of thousands of drivers who use the highway each day because of an ongoing construction project.

For years, drivers have been dealing with closures.

"It always seems that at least one lane is closed and always merging takes a while," Arthur Sharon, who drives on Route 70, said.

Often, drivers are also stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic.

"Just a lot of waiting to get to wherever it is you're going. There's a lot of businesses here, so it's often backed all the way up," Kathleen Tizon said.

Officials said more than 55,000 drivers use Route 70 each day from the Burlington County line to Pennsauken Township.

Since 2022, 9 miles of the highway through Camden County have been undergoing a $155-million state-funded facelift. The New Jersey Department of Transportation said traffic signals have been upgraded, drainage has been improved, utilities replaced and sidewalks have been installed.

"When you look at the fact we also did utilities as well as road surfacing, it was a lot," Cherry Hill Councilman William Carter said.

The project has taken a toll not only on drivers, but also many businesses. The owner of Cherry Hill Pizza said traffic has impacted deliveries and ultimately, he's losing money on many orders.

"When deliveries are late, the customer cancels it and most of the time they are in a meeting and we're not able to provide the order on time," Nav Aulakh, owner of Cherry Hill Pizza, said.

On Friday, county officials announced the project should be completed by the end of the year. Now, they're partnering with NJDOT to beautify the area by planting bushes and flowers in the median.

"These plantings will show we take great pride in our communities here in Camden County and a nice gateway into the state of New Jersey," Camden County Commissioner Louis Cappelli said.