Commutes are a mess for drivers along I-80 in New Jersey. All lanes are shutdown in Wharton due to a new sinkhole that opened up on Wednesday, the third major sinkhole along the interstate. Locals now are dealing with roads flooded with vehicles that have been forced to detour off the highway, while local businesses are seeing a big dropoff in business. NBC New York’s Pat Battle reports.
Another day, another sinkhole on I-80.
Crews were continuing to work to make repairs Thursday on the latest gap to open up on the busy New Jersey highway, which had to be shut down in both directions in Wharton a day ago. The sinkhole problem has plagued the roadway in recent months.
As one commuter put it after the most recent incident, "We're screwed."
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WATCH HEREA spokesperson for the New Jersey Department of Transportation said the 15-foot by 15-foot hole opened during a drilling operation on I-80. All lanes were closed and detoured out of an abundance of caution, the DOT spokesperson said. By late Thursday morning, just the westbound lanes were closed.
It wasn't clear when they would reopen.
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SIGN UP Wednesday's sinkhole caused traffic to be backed up for miles along the highway, footage from Chopper 4 showed. The nightmare has become familiar to commuters and businesses in the area.
The highway had already been closed for repairs in the area and after Wednesday's incident, plans to reopen a lane soon may have to be shelved for now.
According to findings from an initial New Jersey DOT study, a "significant" void sits underneath the eastbound lanes of I-80 near Exit 34.
"If I can assure folks, it’s that — it’s because we want to get the job done right and safely," Morris County Assemblywoman Aura Dunn said about the extended highway closure.
Dunn said part of the problem stemmed from the sheer number of voids that had been found under I-80. It was first thought there were about 90 voids, but crews have since found about twice as many, likely caused from old mines in the area.
"It’s been 24/7 with DOT crews working around the clock to fill these holes. I hate to use the analogy, and many have: We kind of have a system of Swiss cheese, and we gotta plug those holes," said Dunn.
As of Monday, six weeks of work had been completed, and the DOT had hoped to reopen one lane of eastbound traffic on the westbound side of the highway in order to offset growing traffic jams. But Wednesday's development likely put a pause on those crossover plans.
A massive sinkhole the size of a four-story building appeared in the same area in December after an abandoned mine collapsed beneath the roadway. It took four days to fix. Other voids were found.
There are no immediate concerns about the stability of I-80 westbound.
In March, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy declared a state of emergency in Morris County in an effort to get federal funding for I-80 repairs.
