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'It's frustrating': Route 70 construction project causes traffic nightmare for locals, commuters

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Updated  May 12, 2022 8:07am EDT
Burlington County
FOX 29 Philadelphia

Route 70 construction project causes traffic nightmare for locals

A construction project on almost nine miles of Route 70 in Camden and Burlington counties is adding commuting time and frustration for those driving through it.

CHERRY HILL, N.J. - They say there are only two seasons – winter and construction. In South Jersey, construction season could last years through Burlington and Camden counties.

"It’s painful. It’s early in the morning. In the evening. Cars don’t know how to merge. The cones. It’s very disruptive," Cherry Hill resident Shannon Wallace-Smith stated.

Wallace-Smith is fired up over the Route 70 corridor improvement project. The almost nine miles of construction in Pennsauken, Cherry Hill and Evesham Township turns her day upside down.

"I live off Route 70, in Erlton. Just getting out every day, coming home, navigating kids from school," Shannon lamented.

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The Route 70 corridor improvement includes milling and repaving, brining sidewalks up to ADA compliance, improving drainage and other much-needed upgrades.

Linda Popovsky commutes to Philadelphia through the construction zone from her Marlton home every day. "They’re trying to make the road better, so, for me, making it wider and better to drive on, then fine, we have to deal with it."

She quickly changed her tune when she was told NJDOT’s estimated completion date isn’t until May of 2026. "I thought it was only going to take until, maybe, September. Oh my God, that’s ridiculous," Popovsky remarked.

Martha Wright heads up the group Preserve Barclay, a development impacted by the project. She says she would like to see better communication, like a reverse 911. "So, if you got an alert at 6:30 a.m. that said two westbound lanes would be closing, you would know and, like it or not, take another route or add thirty minutes to your commute."

NJDOT says it’s met with the community throughout the project to get feedback and keep people informed. It has a website with construction updates, here.