Turnpike lanes start opening Friday, a month ahead of expectations

Brett Johnson//October 21, 2014//

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A five-year project to widen the New Jersey Turnpike is expected to be partially completed by this weekend, according to the Turnpike Authority.Lanes between interchanges 6 through 9, on the northbound side, are tentatively scheduled to open to traffic starting Friday.

RELATED: Turnpike Authority: Expansion will be complete by Thanksgiving

Thomas Feeney, Turnpike Authority spokesman, told NJ Advance Media that the southbound side is expected to be open the following weekend.

The Turnpike Authority vowed that the massive $2.3 billion project — adding what amounts to 170 miles of lanes — would be done by Thanksgiving, but at least part of it is ready a month ahead of the holiday.

The six lanes that the project added have actually been complete and open to traffic since May; existing lanes were then promptly closed for months of resurfacing and repairs.

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