‘Depression’ closes Route 80 in NJ near area of December sinkhole

🚧 NJ DOT was inspecting a depression in the road on Route 80 east in Wharton

🚧 All lanes were closed out of caution

🚧 A large sinkhole opened up in the same area the day after Christmas

WHARTON — The area where a sinkhole opened after Christmas on Route 80 east was closed to traffic on Monday morning.

All traffic was diverted off Route 80 at Exit 34 (Main Street) and allowed back on again at Exit 35 (Route 15) in Wharton after a "depression" was spotted in the center lane around 6:45 a.m., according to NJ Department of Transportation spokesman Steve Shapiro. The road will remain closed until further notice.

"Out of an abundance of caution, the highway was closed and detoured," Shapiro said in a email to New Jersey 101.5. NJ DOT crews are responding to the scene and will evaluate the situation to determine a repair. It is too early to speculate on the cause of the depression."

Video footage shows crews taking pictures and measurements of what appears to be a "divot" in the center lane, according to New Jersey Traffic North's Bob Williams.

The closure created several miles of near stand still traffic approaching Exit 34

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December sinkhole closed road for 4 days

A 40-foot by 40-foot sinkhole opened on Dec. 26 in the right lane and right shoulder. Crews used a wire mesh, stone aggregate, and a concrete layer that was topped with additional fill and compacted before several layers of asphalt were put down to reconstruct the road, according to the NJ Department of Transportation. A slope along the road and a guardrail was also reconstructed.

The road was reopened by Dec. 30. An abandoned mineshaft under the highway was determined to be the cause of the sinkhole by the NJ DOT, according to CBS New York.

Official state geology maps show a number of abandoned iron mines in that area the date back to the 1800s.

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