Pope Francis visits the area for the World Meeting of Families 2015 in Philadelphia from Sept. 25 through Sept. 27. The event is expected to draw as many as 2 million people to the region.
According to the state Department of Transportation, potentially more than 250,000 cars will be arriving through New Jersey that weekend. An equivalent of 110 miles — from New York City to Philadelphia — to 430 — from Raleigh, N.C. to Philadelphia — of bumper-to-bumper traffic can be expected each day. With the bridge closings and the influx of vehicles, gridlock is expected.
Residents who live within a 25-mile radius of Philadelphia will be affected the papal visit, according to NJDOT.
Moorestown Acting Police Director Lt. Lee Lieber said the department has been advised by NJDOT that heavy traffic is expected. For this, the department will have additional officers on duty.
Although Lieber doesn’t expect too much of an impact at the Moorestown end of Route 38, he said the police are taking precautions as Route 38 will be closed toward the Pennsauken area. He said the general consensus is things will be worse on Route 73 West.
“Route 38 is a busy state highway, and we’ll be keeping an eye on things,” Lieber said.
According to Lieber, the department has been trying to let residents know about the conditions of the roads and any closures of roads or bridges.
“We’ve been trying to let residents know about traffic conditions. Closer to Camden, there are a lot of closures people are going to want to look out for,” Lieber said.
As for the township itself, there will be no parking or lane closures or restrictions.
“We don’t expect to close anything. If something comes up, we’ll act appropriately for any kind of traffic restrictions,” Lieber said.
Though the department is preparing for the possible impact of the papal visit, Lieber said it won’t really know until that weekend.
“I don’t think anyone knows exactly the extent of traffic. It will get worse the more west you go. But we’ll monitor things closely. If there is an issue, we will address it as it occurs,” Lieber said.
For updates on traffic conditions, Lieber recommends checking the Moorestown Police Department’s social media pages as well as signing up for Nixle.
“We’ll be monitoring the situation as it unfolds. We’ll be letting the residents know on Nixle and Twitter as things unfold,” Lieber said.
One of the best sources for information, according to Lieber, is the NJDOT’s website. The website hosts a plethora of information and news releases about the papal visit and what it affects.
PATCO will provide non-stop service westbound to Center City on Sept. 26 to 27 between the Lindenwold, Woodcrest, Ferry Avenue and Broadway New Jersey stations and 9/10th and Locust Street station in Philadelphia
Passengers can board only at these four stations, and all passengers will disembark at 9th/10th and Locust streets station in Philadelphia. For the return trip eastbound, trains will depart 9th/10th and Locust streets station and stop only at the stations listed above. For more information, visit www.ridepatco.org/PapalVisit.
The Ben Franklin Bridge will close to all vehicles beginning around 10 p.m. on Friday evening, Sept. 25 through Monday, Sept. 28 to accommodate pedestrian traffic. It is anticipated the bridge will re-open for normal operation on Monday, Sept. 28 around noon. Pedestrians will be allowed to cross the Ben Franklin Bridge, however it is about a five-mile walk from Camden across the bridge to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. For additional bridge travel information, visit www.drpa.org/PapalVisit.
Because of the bridge closure, NJDOT will be closing I-676 northbound from Exit 3 to the bridge, as well as Route 30 westbound from Airport Circle (Route 38/Route 130) to the bridge.
These closures will undoubtedly result in congestion and delays on all of the state highways in the region, particularly in Camden, Burlington and Gloucester counties, as well as the interstate highways and toll roads. The following NJDOT roadways are expected to be affected by the increased traffic: I-295 as well as Routes 38, 42, 45, 47, 55, 70, 73, 90, 130, 168 and 322.
It is likely there will also be congestion and delays to I-95, I-195 and US 1, and NJDOT is anticipating the New Jersey Turnpike and the Atlantic City Expressway will experience much heavier volume.
For more press releases and information on the papal visit, go to the Department of Transportation website at www.nj.gov/transportation/commuter/events/papal.shtm.
