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    • Garden State Parkway Widening

Garden State Parkway Widening

What the New Jersey Turnpike Authority is proposing the widening 50 miles of the Garden State Parkway, impinging on hundreds of acres of wetlands and potential habitat for endangered and threatened species.

• Widening of the Garden State Parkway from Interchange 30 in Somers Point to Interchange 80 in South Toms River by one lane in each direction. Total project area consists of 50 miles.

[+ ZOOM] Garden State Parkway

• Expanding the shoulders on both sides, beyond the additional lanes, by up to 18 feet.

• Widening of 20 bridges, rehabilitation of the Mullica River and Bass River Bridges, and construction of two new bridges to the east of the existing Mullica River and the Bass River bridges to carry two north bound lanes.

• The project runs through 14 municipalities in Ocean and Atlantic Counties.

• The project will negatively impact 68 acres of suitable threatened and endangered species habitat and 46 acres of critical threatened and endangered species habitat.

• A total of 155.58 acres of existing vegetated areas will be cleared, of which 88.84 acres will be converted to paved area with a total of an additional 222.24 acres of impervious cover.

• A total of 7.7 acres of wetlands will be directly altered, with additional downstream impacts on streams and wetlands.

[+ ZOOM] Garden State Parkway

Pinelands Commission approved the memorandum of agreement to allow Parkway widening to proceed. Over objections of PPA and others, the Commission approved the Parkway widening as consistent with Pinelands rules, subject to the Turnpike Authority buying natural lands to offset both direct and secondary impacts of the project on the Pinelands environment. Read the Agreement and the Pinelands Commission staff report on the Agreement.

Garden State Parkway MOA - 188.2KB Garden State Parkway MOA

Pinelands Commission Garden State Parkway Report - 138.7KB Pinelands Commission Garden State Parkway Report

Environmenal and Transportation Groups ask Governor Corzine to rethink the proposed toll road widenings. Click below to see the February 2008 letter in which Pinelands Preservation Alliance participated.

Letter to Gov. Corzine: Opposition to GSP Widening - 11.5KB Letter to Gov. Corzine: Opposition to GSP Widening

Tri-State Transportation Campaign: Stop NJ's Wasteful Road Widening!

Widening Won't Fix It! postcards - 171.1KB Mail these postcards to officials