State Department Of TransportationTo Conduct A Hurricane Evacuation Drill On Thursday

Drivers can expect to see more New Jersey State Police and state Department of Transportation workers out in force on certain roadways as they conduct a hurricane evacuation drill, according to the DOT.

The drill will be held on Thursday, June 8. No roadways will be closed. The drill is to practice and refine a response in the event of a major hurricane.

The drill will be held on key shore evacuation routes. The areas in Ocean County that will be affected include Route 72 from milepost 13.8 in Barnegat to roughly milepost 29 in Ship Bottom.

Workers will focus on setting up a "contra flow" - reversing traffic on a section of roadway to travel in the opposite direction- on roadways used as evacuation routes for the Jersey Shore. Crews will put staging cones, barrels, and message boards in designated locations along the side of these highways, but will not be deploying the materials.

The DOT is also partnering with the New Jersey Turnpike Authority and the South Jersey Transportation Authority during the drill.

The other highways and shore evacuation routes involved in the drill include:
 Atlantic City Expressway (entire length from Atlantic City to Washington Township)
 Garden State Parkway (mile post 0 in Lower Township to mile post 38 in Egg Harbor)
 I-195 (mile post 6 in Robbinsville to about mile post 34 in Wall)
 Route 47 (mile post 16 to 21 in Dennis, and approximately mile post 32 to 35 in Maurice River)
 Route 347 (mile post 0 in Dennis to about mile post 9 in Maurice River)

Variable message signs will notify motorists of the exercise while it is underway. Motorists are
encouraged to check NJDOT’s traffic information website www.511nj.org for real-time travel information.

Image: Patch file photo