Carneys Point, NJ – Senator John Burzichelli and Assembly Members Heather Simmons and Dave Bailey, Jr. called New Jersey Department of Transportation officials to Salem County on Thursday morning to update impacted businesses about repairs to the overpass at the Route 295 interchange at Hawks Bridge Road. NJDOT Acting Commissioner Francis O’Connor told representatives of the 17 impacted businesses that the road would reopen for traffic within two months, with full repairs to the interchange anticipated later this year.

O’Connor was joined by Deputy Commissioner Joseph Bertino and several NJDOT project managers and engineers, who described the damage caused to the overpass by two separate truck impacts in early 2023 and resulted in the nearly year-long road closure.

The session was hosted by Carneys Point Mayor Ken Brown at the Carneys Point Municipal Building.

“This issue is one that we heard about frequently during the campaign last year, and one that we promised to work on immediately if we were elected. Our phone calls to the state began right after we were sworn into office one month ago, and we are pleased to see things moving in the right direction,” said Senator Burzichelli. “We appreciate Commissioner O’Connor and his team for their attention and responsiveness to us on this issue, and we thank each official and business owner who joined us on Thursday for their partnership in delivering positive results for our community.”

Assemblywoman Heather Simmons added, “The business owners we met with spoke in detail about the losses they have incurred, which are significant. We are making it top priority to continue providing them with updates as this vital infrastructure project gets moving, and we will seek resources that may be available to help them recover some of their losses.”

“As long as we are in office, we will do everything in our power to ensure that Salem, Cumberland, and Gloucester Counties are never ignored or overlooked in Trenton,” said Assemblyman Dave Bailey, Jr.