Extra Traffic Expected for May 18 – 23 Graduation Ceremonies

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. – Rutgers’ universitywide commencement will be held 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 21 at Voorhees Mall near College Avenue in New Brunswick. The ceremony brings hundreds of extra vehicles to roads in and around the city. Travelers should expect delays on city streets and on Route 18 between Route 1 and the Amtrak rail bridge, site of a major renovation project. Motorists are urged to plan alternate routes, if possible, be alert to new traffic patterns in the construction zone and allow extra travel time.

Graduation ceremonies will begin Sunday, May 18 and continue through Friday, May 23 on Rutgers’ New Brunswick and Piscataway campuses.

For the May 21 commencement, and for the Rutgers College convocation Thursday, May 22 at 1:15 p.m., Hamilton Street, from George Street to College Avenue, will be closed between 11:30 a.m. and 6 p.m. On both days, motorists should expect extra heavy delays on all roads near the College Avenue Campus, including George Street through downtown New Brunswick.

If rain postpones the Rutgers College convocation Thursday, Hamilton Street will be closed at the same time Friday, May 23, to accommodate the rescheduled ceremony.

Extra traffic also should be anticipated May 22 on River Road in Piscataway when the School of Engineering (9:30 a.m.) and Livingston College (1:30 p.m.) hold their convocations at the Louis Brown Athletic Center on the Livingston Campus.

The latest information on detours and new traffic patterns relating to Route 18 construction is available at route18update.rutgers.edu. Travelers near campus also may tune in to Route 18 Highway Advisory Radio (530 AM).

The Douglass College convocation is scheduled for 10 a.m. Thursday, May 22, followed by the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences convocation at 10 a.m. Friday, May 23. Motorists should anticipate delays Thursday and Friday on Nichol Avenue, College Farm Road, Ryders Lane and George Street.