TRENTON, N.J. – The Friday morning rush across New Jersey brought a mix of crashes, downed infrastructure, and heavy delays stretching from North Jersey to the shore, causing significant slowdowns for commuters heading toward New York and surrounding cities.
As of 8:26 a.m., all lanes on U.S. 40 eastbound in Egg Harbor Township were closed due to a downed utility pole just east of English Creek Avenue. Crews were on-site working to remove debris and restore power in the area.
A disabled vehicle added to congestion on the New Jersey Turnpike’s Eastern Spur southbound near Interchange 15W in Kearny, where the right lane remained blocked as of 8:21 a.m. Earlier in the morning, a jackknifed tractor-trailer on the Turnpike’s outer roadway northbound near Interchange 14 in Newark had shut down all lanes and created a one-mile delay, compounding the travel chaos for northbound drivers.
In Fort Lee, a crash on the local lanes of I-95 near Exit 72A to Route 4 closed the left lane, while in Mount Olive Township, a collapsed manhole on U.S. 206 southbound restricted traffic to one lane. Emergency construction continued to block the right lane of North Avenue eastbound between Earhart Drive and Kapkowski Road in Elizabeth.
Major crossings into Manhattan were also congested. The George Washington Bridge upper and lower levels each saw travel times of about 20 minutes from I-80 to the Alexander Hamilton Bridge. At the Holland Tunnel, delays stretched to 20 minutes from both the New Jersey Turnpike Exit 14C and Route 139 at Tonnelle Circle.
In North Jersey, traffic built steadily on Route 4 eastbound through Paramus and Teaneck, Route 208 southbound from Hawthorne to Fair Lawn, and Route 3 eastbound between Rutherford and Secaucus. On the Garden State Parkway, volume delays were reported near Exit 130 in Woodbridge.
Drivers were urged to allow extra travel time and remain alert for ongoing lane closures and cleanup efforts throughout the morning.
Key points:
- A downed pole closed all lanes on U.S. 40 eastbound in Egg Harbor Township.
- Multiple crashes and a jackknifed truck caused major backups on the New Jersey Turnpike.
- Bridge and tunnel crossings into New York saw 20-minute delays during the peak commute.