Massive new 15-foot sinkhole opens up on troublesome ‘Swiss cheese’ New Jersey Interstate 80, detouring all traffic
All lanes on Interstate 80 in New Jersey are being detoured after a 15-by-15-foot sinkhole opened up in the middle of a construction zone on the troublesome, so-called “Swiss cheese” roadway, officials announced Wednesday.
Westbound lanes are being detoured at Exit 34 to Route 15 northbound after the gaping hole swallowed up part of the roadbed, the New Jersey Department of Transportation wrote on X.
The sinkhole opened up in the median, near where construction crews were working to fix already existing holes on the eastbound side of the continent-spanning roadway, News12 New Jersey reported.
Eastbound lanes in Wharton, Morris County, have been closed for road repairs for the last several months — after sinkholes have been popping up repeatedly due to a “significant void” that exists just below the surface near Exit 24, officials said.
“The underground is basically Swiss cheese,” William Kroth, executive director of the Sterling Hill Mining Museum, told Pix11 last month.
On Monday, the NJ DOT announced that eastbound I-80 lanes would be closed for another two months — with more repairs, and traffic headaches, likely coming in the future.
Crews are working to stabilize the area under the roadway by filling holes, loose soil, and small voids while scouting the affected areas for further weak spots, according to the release.
Eastbound traffic on I-80 is currently being detoured via Route 10, Route 46, and Exit 34.
I-80 stretches 2,900 miles from Teaneck, New Jersey, to San Francisco, California.
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