Could the Parkway's Exit 20 finally be expanded?

Exit 20 on the Garden State Parkway in Cape May County is a bit of a conundrum for motorists.

They can use it to enter the Parkway heading southbound. It also serves as an exit ramp to Upper Township for northbound traffic on the Parkway.

However, motorists cannot use Exit 20 to hop on the Parkway’s northbound lanes or get off at Upper Township while heading southbound.

“That simply does not make sense for the people who live and work here,” Congressman Jeff Van Drew said bluntly.

But after about 30 years of on-again, off-again discussions, Van Drew reported there is finally progress for traffic improvements at Exit 20.

Van Drew, whose 2nd Congressional District, includes Upper Township, announced that the New Jersey Turnpike Authority, the Parkway’s operating agency, has completed the preliminary designs for the project.

“The next step is for the project to move through the authority's budget prioritization process to be considered for funding. I will keep pushing to make sure this project moves forward so this interchange finally works the way it should for South Jersey,” Van Drew said in a statement.

Noting his long history with the project, Van Drew expressed confidence that Exit 20 will finally be fixed at some point.

“This has been a priority for me since my time in the state Legislature, and I have been working with the New Jersey Turnpike Authority to finally get this moving,” said Van Drew, who was a state lawmaker before becoming a congressman.

The New Jersey Highway Authority could not be immediately reached for comment.

    The Garden State Parkway is a major artery through Cape May County..
  

Exit 20 is located near the busy intersection of Route 9 and Route 50 in the Seaville section of Upper Township.

Upper Township Mayor Curtis Corson said a four-way interchange at Exit 20 would help to ease congestion in the commercial areas of the Marmora section and would have the broader impact of improving traffic flow throughout Cape May County.

“It probably would be good for traffic in all of Cape May County,” Corson said in an interview Monday.

Upper Township officials have lobbied for a full-fledged, four-interchange at Exit 20 for about 30 years. One survey conducted by the Upper Township Economic Development Advisory Commission about eight years ago found that 90 percent of the respondents were in favor of a full interchange.

In addition, the South Jersey Transportation Planning Organization’s 2016 Regional Transportation Plan characterized a full interchange at Exit 20 as “a critical need” for the safety of the region, especially if there are evacuations during coastal storms or other emergencies.

Corson also cited the benefit of having a four-way interchange to help with evacuations using the Parkway in coastal storms.

Construction of a four-way interchange has been complicated for years by the environmentally sensitive wetlands that surround Exit 20, Corson explained.

He suggested creating new wetlands near Exit 20 as a way to mitigate any wetlands that would be filled in to build a four-way interchange.

In the past, there has also been debate over whether Exit 20 should become a toll plaza if it is converted into a four-way interchange. Currently, it is free to use for motorists.

Corson said he would be willing to compromise on having a toll plaza if it was limited to automated E-ZPass transactions instead of having the much-slower way of paying with cash or coins.

“It would be an acceptable compromise,” he said.

    Northbound access to the Garden State Parkway off Sea Isle Boulevard is gained by using a separate on-ramp. Sea Isle City officials want a full interchange at Exit 17, too.
  

Neighboring Sea Isle City has thrown its support behind Upper Township’s efforts to get the New Jersey Turnpike Authority to convert Exit 20 into a four-way interchange.

A resolution approved in 2018 by Sea Isle’s City Council formalizing its support for Upper Township noted that debate over Exit 20’s expansion has dragged on for about 30 years.

Sea Isle officials have been calling for both Exit 20 and Exit 17 to be transformed into four-way interchanges. Exit 17 links the Parkway with Sea Isle, but it is limited in scope.

In its current configuration, Exit 17 is split into two parts. Exit 17’s off-ramp on the southbound side of the Parkway merges with Sea Isle Boulevard. For motorists wanting to access the Parkway’s northbound lanes, they must follow Sea Isle Boulevard out of town and then jump on a separate on-ramp.

There is no southbound access to the Parkway at Exit 17 off Sea Isle Boulevard. In addition, there is no exit to Sea Isle off the Parkway’s northbound side.

Sea Isle officials believe a four-way interchange at Exit 17 is needed to improve both safety and traffic flow, particularly on summer weekends, when the resort town is flooded with tourists. Exit 17’s limited access causes bottlenecks that spill off the Parkway onto Sea Isle Boulevard and cascade back to Route 9 in Seaville.