Pope Francis visits the area for the World Meeting of Families 2015 in Philadelphia from Sept. 25 through Sept. 27. The event is expected to draw as many as 2 million people to the region.
According to the state Department of Transportation, potentially more than 250,000 cars will be arriving through New Jersey that weekend. An equivalent of 110 miles — from New York City to Philadelphia, to 430 from Raleigh, N.C. to Philadelphia — of bumper-to-bumper traffic can be expected each day. With the bridge closings and the influx of vehicles, gridlock is expected.
Residents who live within a 25-mile radius of Philadelphia will be affected by the papal visit, according to NJDOT.
Haddonfield Police Chief Ted Stuessy said they are not expecting a large impact within the borough, and they aren’t expecting any big issues.
“As far as the impact on Haddonfield, we are not having any specific issues that we are worried about. We are just watching it like everyone else to see what the ripple effect may or may not be from the main event,” Stuessy said.
For Haddonfield, the only thing that will be affected by the papal visit is the PATCO station, according to Stuessy. There will be no PATCO service operating to or from the Haddonfield station during the papal visit to Philadelphia on Sept. 26 and 27.
PATCO will provide non-stop service westbound to Center City on Sept. 26 to 27 between the Lindenwold, Woodcrest, Ferry Avenue and Broadway New Jersey stations and 9/10th and Locust Street station in Philadelphia.
Passengers can board only at these four stations, and all passengers will disembark at 9th/10th and Locust streets station in Philadelphia. For the return trip eastbound, trains will depart 9th/10th and Locust streets station and stop only at the stations listed above. For more information, visit www.ridepatco.org/PapalVisit.
According to Stuessy, the PATCO parking lot will remain open.
For Haddonfield, there will be no lane closures or parking restrictions for the papal visit.
The police department will keep its staff at normal numbers, however it does have additional personnel on call if needed. Haddonfield Police have been meeting with area departments and officials regularly for updates to keep abreast with anything that might be coming up.
“We just have to wait and see. There is nothing we can act on as of now,” Stuessy said.
Stuessy recommends going to the Haddonfield Police Department’s website and social media pages for updates.
Another good source of information is NJDOT’s website, which hosts a plethora of information and news releases about the papal visit and what it affects.
The Ben Franklin Bridge will close to all vehicles beginning around 10 p.m. on Friday evening, Sept. 25 through Monday, Sept. 28 to accommodate pedestrian traffic. It is anticipated the bridge will re-open for normal operation on Monday, Sept. 28 around noon. Pedestrians will be allowed to cross the Ben Franklin Bridge, however it is about a five-mile walk from Camden across the bridge to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. For additional bridge travel information, visit www.drpa.org/PapalVisit.
Because of the bridge closure, NJDOT will be closing I-676 northbound from Exit 3 to the bridge, as well as Route 30 westbound from Airport Circle (Route 38/Route 130) to the bridge.
These closures will undoubtedly result in congestion and delays on all of the state highways in the region, particularly in Camden, Burlington and Gloucester counties, as well as the interstate highways and toll roads. The following NJDOT roadways are expected to be affected by the increased traffic: I-295 as well as Routes 38, 42, 45, 47, 55, 70, 73, 90, 130, 168 and 322.
It is likely there will also be congestion and delays to I-95, I-195 and US 1, and NJDOT is anticipating the New Jersey Turnpike and the Atlantic City Expressway will experience much heavier volume.
For more press releases and information on the papal visit, go to the Department of Transportation website at www.nj.gov/transportation/commuter/events/papal.shtm.
