3 rest stops on Parkway, Turnpike closing for several months

Two service areas on the Garden State Parkway and New Jersey Turnpike will close for eight months and another will partially close for renovations after Labor Day.

The Richard Stockton service area on the Turnpike between exits 7A and 7 in Hamilton and the Forked River service area on the Parkway near Exit 77 in Lacey Township will close on Sept. 9 and Sept. 10, respectively, according to the New Jersey Turnpike Authority.

All food and bathroom facilities will be suspended at both areas and be blocked off to the public while the Stockton service area is extensively remodeled and the Forked River facility is completely torn down.

It will also leave a 60-mile gap between the Monmouth service area and the Atlantic City service area on the Parkway and a 41-mile gap between the Molly Pitcher and Walt Whitman service areas on the Turnpike.

The Vince Lombardi service area at the northern-most end of the Turnpike will be partially closed on Sept. 6 while the building is torn down. Portable bathrooms and food trucks will be available and the commuter and truck parking lots will remain open.

The Sunoco stations at all three stations will close with new facilities part of the renovation.

Better things are in store at all the areas, according to Turnpike Authority Executive Director John M. Keller.

"I realize that these service area closures cause a temporary inconvenience for our customers, but as anyone who has visited one of our new facilities can tell you, it will be worth the wait. The new service area facilities are bright, comfortable places with the amenities you need to refresh and refuel during your travels," Keller said.

The project is part of a $250 million project to renovate Turnpike and Parkway service areas.

The Thomas Edison and Alexander Hamilton service areas on the Turnpike and the Monmouth Service Area on the Parkway have been completed so far. Monmouth reopened in May 2019, Edison in June 2019, and Hamilton in August 2019.

A new convenience store with restroom facilities opened at the Brookdale North Service Area on the Garden State Parkway this summer. Brookdale North had been a fuel-only location.

Contact reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com or via Twitter @DanAlexanderNJ

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