BELLMAWR, NJ (CBS) – South Jersey lawmakers demand answers after a CBS News Philadelphia investigation into the collapse of a retaining wall on the I-295 Direct Connect project.
The two-year investigation found that the New Jersey Department of Transportation ultimately rejected repeated warnings from the highway project contractor about the material used in the embankment and retaining wall slope before it failed in March 2021.
The retaining wall, identified in construction documents as “Wall 22,” is in the middle of the I-295 Direct Connect project, the multibillion-dollar plan designed to ease congestion at the intersection of I-295, I-76 and Route 42 in Bellmawr.
Sen. Paul Moriarty (D-04), who, before representing Camden, Gloucester and Atlantic counties, was an investigative reporter for CBS Philadelphia from 1986 to 2003, said public accountability is needed.
“These kinds of monumental missteps are just unbelievable,” Moriarty said. “We need hearings and we need people to come forward and testify.”
Shortly after CBS News Philadelphia’s investigation aired, Congressman Donald Norcross (D, NJ-01) and New Jersey District 5 lawmakers sent Senator Nilsa Cruz-Perez (D), Assemblyman William Moen (D), and Assemblyman William Spearman (D ) a message. letter to NJDOT’s acting commissioner demanding that the department, and whoever was involved in the decision-making regarding the initial construction of Wall 22, “provide a briefing to our offices that provides the appropriate technical explanation of this matter.”
In a statement to CBS News Philadelphia, Norcross said, “Safe roads and public safety remain a top priority. The problems caused by Wall 22 and the delays of the Direct Connect Project have negatively impacted safety and our economy throughout South Jersey. If I am interested in learning more, I have asked NJDOT to give myself and local legislators a full briefing on the issue, I will continue to demand answers, engage with local officials and stakeholders, and provide federal assistance and funding for the roads in South Jersey.
The CBS News Philadelphia investigation uncovered documents showing that South State, the project’s contractor, warned about the use of “I-11 sand material” in the embankment and slope for three years before the wall’s collapse of the retaining wall.
That material was later cited as one of four causes that led to the wall’s failure.
It will now cost federal and state taxpayers $92 million to replace the wall.
“We’re going to hold people accountable,” Moriarty said. “We will be good stewards of their money and mistakes like this cannot happen again.”
NJDOT still has not made anyone from the department available for an on-camera interview.
In an updated statement released Friday, the department wrote: “In the future design of a retaining wall of the same type, the department will consider what it has learned about the materials used in Wall 22 and the geological and drainage conditions present.”
In response to CBS News Philadelphia’s questions about lawmakers demanding these meetings and hearings, NJDOT wrote, “NJDOT has communicated regularly with elected officials about the project and will continue to do so.”
If you have information about the I-295 Direct Connect project, please contact CBS News Philadelphia reporter Brandon Goldner by email at goldner@cbs.com or by Signal at brandongoldnertv.14
