It is possible that commuters in Morris County could see two lanes of traffic open up along Interstate 80 West on Friday. Gov. Phil Murphy alluded to this earlier in the week on News 12’s “Ask Gov. Murphy” program.

In the meantime, these three sinkholes on the interstate and subsequent detours, are causing some serious traffic issues for those who live in that area of Rockaway and Wharton.

One of those often-used detours is Richard Mine Road in Rockaway. Homeowners along the narrow two-lane stretch of road tell News 12 that a convoy of cars is nearly constant outside their front doors.

Frank Kovach is one of those homeowners. He says there are lines of cars outside his house, the worst of it between 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. For Kovach and his neighbors, a simple ride to the grocery store, which is normally 10 minutes, can turn into an hour, he says.

But Kovach says it's not just the traffic backups that bother him.

“The thing that bothers me most is the heavy trucks coming down our road…They’re 50-, 60-ton trucks,” he says.

The two-lane road is only made to handle four-ton trucks. Kovach says he is worried about the water and gas lines connected to these homes holding up.

“This road here is so soft that when you get 60- or 70-ton trucks on here. The pipe underneath is going to break,” he says.

News 12 caught up with Kovach as he was headed to the Rockaway Police Station to complain. He says all of these cars and trucks are getting off I-80 at Exit 35 and using this road as a cut-through to Route 15. This will eventually get drivers back to I-80 past the road work.

Rockaway Mayor Joe Jackson has said he is talking to state legislators to find some way to alleviate this traffic. Meanwhile, work on the eastbound side of I-80 continues around the clock as crews are using concrete to shore up holes in the ground to prevent any further sinkholes.

State officials say the eastbound side may take another six weeks to fix.