New Jersey lawmakers demand answers about wall collapse from department of transportation
BELLMAWR, N.J. (CBS) — Following a two-year CBS News Philadelphia investigation into the collapse of a retaining wall on the I-295 Direct Connect Project, Congressman Donald Norcross (D) and a group of state lawmakers have held a series of meetings with the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) to seek answers about why the wall failed.
The large retaining wall, known as Wall 22, collapsed in March 2021. It held up an elevated roadway that was a critical part of the billion-dollar Direct Connect Project, which is located at the junction of I-295, I-76 and Route 42.
CBS News Philadelphia reported on May 21 that Norcross and the group of state lawmakers demanded a briefing from NJDOT shortly after CBS News Philadelphia aired its investigation on May 13 examining whether the wall's collapse could've been prevented.
Norcross said he and lawmakers have since had a series of meetings with the department, the most recent being in the last month, to discuss what's being done to ensure this collapse never happens again.
"The accountability is taking place. Both the state legislators, the local municipalities and myself have been involved," Norcross said. "They've been hit with very hard questions on how this happens in this modern day."
CBS News Philadelphia's investigation found the project's contractor, South State, repeatedly warned NJDOT against using "I-11 sand material" in Wall 22's embankment and slope.
That material was later cited in a forensic engineering report contracted by NJDOT as one of four causes of Wall 22's failure.
No one was injured in the collapse, but NJDOT said demolishing and rebuilding the wall is going to cost taxpayers $92 million.
"Frustration doesn't even come close. Not only do we have to pay for it twice, it's the delay that's going on by years. We're in the second decade," Norcross said. "We need to get this done and get it done right."
Norcross continued, "I'm confident that we'll get it right this time. The problem is the state's going to have to spend millions and millions of dollars doing something correct a second time that should've been done right the first time."
CBS News Philadelphia once again asked NJDOT for an on-camera interview to discuss the collapse of Wall 22 and the meetings with lawmakers.
CBS News Philadelphia is still awaiting a response, but the department has previously declined the newsroom's repeated interview requests.
In a statement sent to the station back in May, the department wrote it's in regular communication with elected officials about the project and will continue its communications. It also wrote that in the future design of a similar type of retaining wall, the department will consider what it has learned about the materials used in Wall 22.