Route 70's Last Signals Go In This Fall, and the Median Waits for Spring
The center of Route 70 through Cherry Hill is still mostly bare dirt. 70and73's Neill Borowski, writing in The Philadelphia Inquirer on Oct. 15, called it "that brown scar of dirt down the middle of the state highway." He listed it next to the crawling traffic, the barricades and the "mystery driveways" that drivers have dealt with for the past four years.
That strip of dirt will be the last thing to change. The $155.1 million reconstruction is being finished in the order it was built, starting below the road. Pipes and culverts came first. Pavement and signals come next. The median plantings are scheduled for spring 2027, after the signals and nearly all of the paving are done.
The New Jersey Department of Transportation splits the 8.8 miles between Route 38 in Pennsauken and Cooper Avenue in Evesham into five work zones. Its project page was last updated Sept. 25, 2026. As of that update, here is where each zone stood.
| Work zone | Stretch | Status as of Sept. 25, 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kings Highway to Grove St./Haddonfield Rd. | Final paving done November 2025; signals in progress |
| 2 | I-295 to Kings Highway | Median and final paving done October 2025; signals in progress |
| 3 | Grove St./Haddonfield Rd. to Route 38 | Median rebuilt September 2026; final paving set to start this fall |
| 4 | I-295 to Cropwell Road | Drainage done August 2026; final paving not yet started |
| 5 | Cropwell Road to Cooper Avenue | Paving done October 2025; signals done August 2026 |
The same page gives two finish dates. The header says "Scheduled Completion: Fall 2026," and the bottom of the page says "Project Completion: Spring 2027." Both are right, because they measure different things. Most of the corridor should be finished by winter. Final paving east of I-295 and the plantings follow in spring.
NBC10 reported on Sept. 25 that Work Zone 3 took longer than planned because more main work was added there. In The Inquirer on Sept. 24, NJDOT spokesperson Steve Schapiro said "several utility-related delays" had held up the last traffic signals.
Most of the remaining work is at specific intersections. NJDOT gave NBC10 a list of the signals to be finished in October:
Cherry Hill Township's construction update for the week of Oct. 19 scheduled the Grove Street and Haddonfield Road signal for overnight work, from 8 p.m. Friday to 6 a.m. Saturday. The same notice listed concrete work on the center median between I-295 and Springdale Road. It also listed lane shifts in both directions between Haddonfield Road and the Pennsauken border for asphalt repairs.
NJDOT is upgrading all 28 signals in the project with new electrical equipment and LED heads. It is also installing an adaptive traffic signal control system, which the department says will "interconnect all traffic signals, collect real-time traffic data, and make real-time signal timing adjustments." The system works across the whole corridor, so each of these last intersections links the stretch together.
Once the signals are in, NJDOT plans restriping and paving. The Grove Street/Haddonfield Road to Route 38 section is due for repaving this fall, weather permitting. The stretch from I-295 to Cropwell Road gets interim paving "where necessary" this fall, and its final paving is scheduled for next spring.
The slow pace makes sense once you see how much of the work is underground. NJDOT's project page lists, among other items:
The milestone tables show the order of the work. In Work Zones 1 through 4, gas mains were finished between December 2022 and June 2024. Water mains followed, with the last finished in May 2026. Drainage came next, and final paving only after that. Work Zone 3's Chandlers Run culvert was finished in June 2022. Its median was not rebuilt until September 2026.
Schapiro told The Inquirer that the utilities, drainage and culverts "will ensure resiliency along the corridor." He said rebuilt sidewalks and curbs "will mean improved safety for pedestrians, cyclists and other vulnerable roadways users." Most of that work is underground, which is why the bare median is what people notice.
The median is the only part of the project meant to be looked at. In an Oct. 16 release, Camden County announced a beautification plan with NJDOT. The county said the goal of the median work is to "create a new sense of place for motorists and pedestrians."
The plants were chosen to work as a group. Borowski's report in The Inquirer lists the flowers as Black-eyed Susan, aster, daylilies, gaillardia and allium, in purple, pink, red and yellow. Inkberry, eastern red cedar and switchgrass fill in around them. According to NJDOT, all of the plants tolerate road salt. They will be set in wildflower soil and edged with rubber or aggregate surfacing, following plans by Environmental Resolutions Inc. of Mount Laurel.
"Perennial native plants that truly represent the Garden State."
Camden County Commissioner Director Louis Cappelli Jr., as quoted in The Inquirer
The plans also call for eight-foot-wide signs reading "Welcome to Cherry Hill" and "Now Leaving Cherry Hill," with brick columns on each side. County renderings show the plantings near the Barclay Farm development and the Garden State Park complex. Barclay Farms Shopping Center is where state, county and township officials were scheduled to meet to announce that the project would be finished by winter.
The schedule puts the plantings last. NJDOT told NBC10 that the additional county work is expected in spring 2027, the same season as the final paving in Work Zone 4. In the week of Oct. 19, concrete work on the median between I-295 and Springdale Road was still listed as ongoing. None of the sources gives a separate installation date for the signs.
Route 70 is not the only roadwork in Cherry Hill. The township's notice for the week of Oct. 19 also lists Camden County work on Kresson Road. That includes daytime concrete work with lane closures from Browning Lane to Heartwood Road, a lane shift between Marlkress and Springdale roads, and overnight utility work near Willowdale Drive. Springdale Road from Greentree Road to the Burlington County border has daytime lane shifts. New Jersey American Water is paving on Cropwell Road and has an overnight closure from Marlowe to Kresson roads. It also has an overnight closure and detour at the Old Orchard Road entrance to Route 70.
These are separate county and utility projects with their own schedules. They will not end when NJDOT finishes Route 70. When the last Route 70 signal is in, lane shifts on nearby roads may still continue.
The full list of what remains on Route 70 is short. Final paving runs this fall from Grove Street to Route 38. Interim paving goes down east of I-295, with final paving there next spring. The median plantings come after that.
Route 70 is many people's first view of Cherry Hill, and a new median changes how that arrival looks. If you are planning changes to your own home's frontage, from the plantings and front walk to how the house reads from the curb, Holly Garber can help you plan those changes in the right order. Begin the Conversation.
Whether you are preparing to sell, searching for your next home, planning a renovation, or exploring an investment opportunity, I welcome a confidential conversation about your goals.
