Two infamous bottlenecks on Route 24 have been forcing drivers to squeeze from three to two lanes for years. Are there plans to eliminate them? Ask @CommutingLarry
Will two areas of Route 24, which lose a lane in both directions, ever be widened? The answer about the twin merger trouble is in the Ask @CommutingLarry mailbag.
Drivers on Route 24 have suffered the indignity of losing a lane in both directions, in Millburn and at the border of Summit and Springfield. The result, especially during the commuting peak, is backed-up traffic and the unpleasant fender-to-fender dual when three lanes merge to two.
An NJ.com reader e-mailed us to find out if there are any plans to end the big squeeze.
Q: "Is anything in the works to fix the Route 24 bottlenecks, both westbound caused by the Short Hills merge and lane reductions, and eastbound caused by the Springfield I-78/24 merge and lane reductions?"
A: We asked Dan Triana, a spokesman for the state Department of Transportation. Drivers are not going to like the answer.
"NJDOT does not have any current plans to widen the roadway in the Route 24, I-78, Short Hills Mall area," he said. "NJDOT currently has not received any requests to look into road widening or traffic flow improvements in the area."
GOT QUESTIONS?
Ticked off about mass transit? Wondering about road construction? E-mail your questions to NJ.com's transportation expert Larry Higgs. He'll answer your questions on Tuesdays and Thursdays on NJ.com. You can also Tweet @CommutingLarry.According to DOT statistics, traffic near the Summit, Springfield merge on Route 24 west has grown from 99,115 annual average daily vehicles using the section of Route 24 in 2009 to 104,996 this year. The DOT counted 97,086 vehicles near the Millburn merge on Route 24 east in 2009.
However, Route 24 doesn't even have a project on the DOT's "to do" list for the next five years.
But Triana left the door open for anyone who wants to get the ball rolling.
"Once a request is received from local area officials, NJDOT does it best to work closely with the community on addressing recommendations or concerns," he said.
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So drivers who want to get something started might consider contacting their elected officials about the problem. A good place to start is with the county representatives to the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority. Representatives from Union and Essex County freeholder boards are among the NJTPA's leadership.
That agency consists of 13 north and central counties, which work on obtaining federal funding for projects and studying the need and future projects.
Whether it's an issue that's in north, south or central Jersey, we'll try to get answers to questions, whether it's about widening highway lanes across a bridge or getting a reason why a commuter train is arriving on the wrong track. Send us yours.
Larry Higgs may be reached at lhiggs@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @commutinglarry. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
