By Donald Wittkowski
Motorists leaving Sea Isle City can finally say goodbye to the narrow on-ramp that required them to make a sharp right-hand turn to head north on the Garden State Parkway.
Construction crews have opened a wider on-ramp that features a merge lane allowing drivers to easily connect with the parkway’s Exit 17 northbound off Sea Isle Boulevard.
During the past four years, Sea Isle Boulevard has undergone a $12.7 million reconstruction. The road has been raised by 4.5 feet to create an elevated evacuation route that will protect motorists from flooding on the low-lying barrier island.
The boulevard serves as the main artery into and out of Sea Isle. The rebuilt road is wider than the cramped old boulevard and includes new shoulders as another safety feature.
One of the last parts of the project was the construction of the new on-ramp that connects the boulevard with the Garden State Parkway northbound at Exit 17.
The new ramp means motorists no longer have to make an abrupt right-hand turn and then squeeze though narrow construction barriers to hop on the parkway. The old ramp was essentially a mini-obstacle course that was even more challenging for drivers during limited visibility at night.
Sea Isle Business Administrator George Savastano noted that the old ramp had required motorists to navigate a “tough right turn.”
Meanwhile, although Exit 17 now has a wider on-ramp northbound, it remains only a two-way interchange. In its current configuration, the interchange is split into two parts.
Motorists traveling southbound on the Garden State Parkway can use the off-ramp at Exit 17 to get to Sea Isle. Heading out of town on Sea Isle Boulevard, they can jump on the northbound lanes of the parkway using the Exit 17 on-ramp.
However, 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.
Frustrated with the limited amount of access at Exit 17, Sea Isle officials want to see the two-way interchange turned into a full-fledged, four-way interchange.
City Council unanimously approved a resolution in July 2017 calling on the New Jersey Turnpike Authority, the parkway’s operating agency, to build a four-way interchange.
Sea Isle officials believe that a four-way interchange is needed to improve both safety and traffic flow, particularly on summer weekends, when Sea Isle is flooded with tourists.
