Officials say five small brush fires in Elizabeth, near the turnpike's outer roadway, forced officials to close the northbound right lane just north of Interchange 13A to just south of Interchange 14 in Newark. The fires were reported around 4 p.m., and were all extinguished within about 90 minutes.
Turnpike Authority spokesman Tom Feeney says delays in both directions had eased by 6 p.m.
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