Single mother shares hours-long commute headache around sinkholes to get her son to school
POMPTON LAKES, New Jersey (WABC) -- As sinkhole repairs continue on Route 80 in New Jersey, Eyewitness News spoke to a woman who is greatly impacted by the traffic and construction.
NJDOT says that during a drilling operation, a 15-foot by 15-foot hole opened up in the median on I-80 in Wharton.
The busy highway has been plagued with sinkholes since December because of old mine shafts that run beneath it.
The eastbound lanes had already been closed as crews continue working on repairs from the other sinkholes.
Debbie, a single mom, says it takes her twice as long to bring her son to school every day as she navigates the detours throughout Morris County.
Instead of 30 minutes to get her son Nico to high school, she says it now takes her more than an hour.
"During his senior year he's an autistic, special needs student. We moved to Mount Olive and he was allowed to stay because he was a senior. He likes to get there early because his friends meet up with him," Debbie said.
They left their house at 6:14 a.m.
"Without the sinkhole 30 minutes, today it was an hour and 15 minutes," Debbie said.
The state and New Jersey Transit have tried to help by offering train tickets to get people off the roads.
But the problem is not everybody can take the train and for people out here fighting all this traffic, it's been a nightmare.
The complete change in Nico's routine has been very tough, because a solid schedule helps with special needs.
"His routine, he didn't adapt very well, it's taking quite a bit of time. We do have a therapist coming into the house to help him adjust," Debbie said.
Debbie's message to leaders at the local and federal level is it needs to be taken care of as soon as possible.
"So we finally made it for breakfast. He's on his way in," Debbie said.
He's got his buddies to see and she's keeping it together.
"I'm trying. That's what we do right we just keep going," Debbie said.
NJDOT was working to create a "crossover," which would shift one lane of eastbound traffic into the westbound lanes that would help massive trucks and tractor trailers for utilizing detours and alternative routes.
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