County Pushes for Four Full Parkway Interchanges

CAPE MAY - Cape May county government is making a fresh push to upgrade four Garden State Parkway exits that currently offer only limited access, arguing the improvements would benefit both residents and the millions of tourists who visit each year.

County commissioners passed a resolution on August 11 calling on the New Jersey Turnpike Authority to move forward with converting Exits 6, 13, 17, and 20 into complete four-way interchanges. The measure urges the authority to advance planning, design, funding, and construction for all four locations.

Right now, these exits provide only partial access. Exit 17 in Sea Isle City, for example, allows drivers to exit when traveling southbound and enter when heading northbound—but offers no way to enter the Parkway going south or exit when traveling north. The proposed upgrades would add those missing connections.

According to Leonard Desiderio, who leads the Cape May County Board of Commissioners, the changes would deliver significant benefits for our communities. "Cape May County relies on the Garden State Parkway as a vital lifeline for residents, businesses, emergency services, and our tourism-driven economy," Desiderio said in a statement. "Full interchanges at Exits 6, 13, 17, and 20 will make travel safer and more efficient while giving our communities stronger options during emergencies. We strongly urge the New Jersey Turnpike Authority to move these critical improvements forward."

Desiderio, who also serves as Sea Isle's mayor, has been particularly focused on Exit 17, which serves his community along with Dennis Township. He wants the Parkway to add both a southbound on-ramp and a northbound off-ramp at that location.

The four targeted exits serve key shore destinations: Exit 6 provides access to North Wildwood, Exit 13 connects to Avalon and Swainton, Exit 17 serves Sea Isle City, and Exit 20 links to Upper Township.

County officials say complete interchanges would ease congestion on local roads by giving drivers more direct routes, improve response times for emergency vehicles, and create better evacuation options during coastal storms—a critical consideration for our barrier island communities.

The Turnpike Authority appears receptive to the idea. Kris Kolluri, the agency's executive director, addressed the Cape May County Chamber of Commerce during a July 23 transportation forum and confirmed plans to upgrade all four exits into full interchanges, according to OCNJ Daily.

However, Kolluri provided no timeline or cost estimate for the work. In an interview with Fideri News Network following the forum, he indicated that Exits 13 and 20 are currently in preliminary design, while Exits 6 and 17 haven't yet reached that stage.

The county has distributed certified copies of its resolution to Governor Mikie Sherrill's office, the New Jersey Turnpike Authority, the authority's board of commissioners, and every municipal clerk throughout Cape May County.

These four exits sit along the Garden State Parkway's southernmost section, a critical corridor for reaching shore and mainland towns in South Jersey. The Turnpike Authority previously widened a 50-mile segment of the Parkway stretching from South Toms River in Ocean County down to Somers Point in Atlantic County, adding a third lane in each direction.

When asked at the Chamber forum, Kolluri said the authority has no plans to extend that third lane farther south into Cape May County.