Sudden Route 18 closures affect certain U. bus routes

Yesterday, the Route 18 Southbound local lanes in New Brunswick were unexpectedly closed throughout the day.

The closure of the Route 18 lanes blocked access to the New Street and Paul Robeson Road exit ramps that four Rutgers bus routes use to reach the Cook and Douglass campuses.

To accommodate for the lane closures ahead, the REXB and REXL routes exited Route 18 through the George Street ramp and traveled through downtown New Brunswick to reach the Douglass and Cook campuses.

The F and EE buses also traveled through downtown New Brunswick on George Street after leaving the Yard @ College Avenue instead of their regular Route 18 pathway.

The unplanned road closure did not impact buses traveling from the Douglass and Cook campuses to other campuses.

Patti Zielinski, a University spokesperson, provided a statement on behalf of Rutgers Transportation Services, saying they were unaware of the closure until it began.

"The University was not provided advance notice of the work or need for (the) road closure. We put the message on TransLoc once our drivers reported the road closure," the statement read. An alert on the TransLoc mobile app mentioned that a detour was in effect and to expect delays but was not specific about the closure's impact.

"Due to road construction on RT 18 South, please expect delays in bus service," the alert read.

The Daily Targum was unable to confirm at this time how long the road closure will remain in place.