The Toll of an I-80 Commute: More hours away from home, relief weeks away
Bills have been introduced to help offset local business losses, but there’s still discussion on how best to mitigate traffic.
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Traveling I-80 has been a nightmare, and will continue to be for several more weeks. Those who travel to work along the detour roads lose hours each week in the traffic, but some businesses have to travel for work along those roads.
Rod Guzman has spent 16 years with Rod’s Tree Service and Landscaping. But he says business around Morris County is down 10-20% as crews work to repair repeated sinkholes along I-80 in Wharton.
Their depot is along Route 15 south in Wharton. To get there, workers have to take Route 15 north first and make a U-turn, so they get caught in both lanes of traffic to and from each job along I-80.
“I have to call [customers] two or three times and apologize,” said Guzman. “It’s out of my hands. I’m trying to do the best for me, my customers and my workers.”
For Guzman, the only way to beat the traffic is to come in earlier, which takes a toll.
“Now I have to get up at 3:30 in the morning,” Guzman said. “Last Friday, I got home at 8:05 at night.”
Even trips here to the gas station within eyesight of his lot depot are taking 15 minutes, and there’s no way around the congestion.
“Now, people are cutting through the backroads,” Guzman said. “They never used to take Sussex Turnpike, for example.”
Bills have been introduced to help offset local business losses, but there’s still discussion on how best to mitigate traffic. New Jersey Senate Republican Leader Anthony Bucco has suggested additional park-and-rides, which would utilize New Jersey Transit’s bus service to take more drivers off the roads.
NJ Transit is currently offering a 50% discount for riders from select area train stations.
