Project to fix flooding on Admiral Wilson Blvd. begins

State and local officials broke ground today for a $7.8 million reconstruction of Admiral Wilson Boulevard, designed to reduce the frequent flooding of the busy highway in Camden and Pennsauken.

But since parts of the roadway are lower than the highest tide levels on the adjacent Cooper River, motorists can still expect occasional flooding.

Construction crews will install a new drainage system with four new drains into the river. They also will build an earthen berm to prevent high tide from reaching local ramps. Then two miles of the road in Camden and Pennsauken will be resurfaced.

The project, which is being built with federal stimulus funds, is scheduled to be finished by November, 2010. Work began on Tuesday, with the right lane of the eastbound highway closed.

Admiral Wilson, the westernmost leg of U.S. Route 30 in New Jersey, is the two-mile stretch from the Airport Circle to the Ben Franklin Bridge.