EAST BRUNSWICK — The sinkhole was small, as these things go. Police coned it off on Friday, state repairs came overnight and by Sunday the lane was open again, though nobody announced that.
But the hole that opened beside Route 18 South was at least the fourth since 2021 on this stretch of highway, and the state confirmed it opened inside the very project rebuilding the road's aging drainage, an $86.1 million job now three and a half years into construction. What happened over one weekend is simple. Why it keeps happening here is the longer story.
A hole on Friday, a fix by Sunday
East Brunswick police warned drivers Friday to avoid the southbound lanes between Rues Lane and Main Street "due to a sinkhole in the roadway." A photo the department posted showed the curb broken at the road's edge and the ground gone beneath the sidewalk, with officers standing watch.
News 12 reported the advisory went out Friday evening. ABC7 reported that officers closed the road to traffic on Saturday, and News 12 reported police were urging alternate routes until further notice. On Saturday, East Brunswick police said state transportation officials had responded overnight and made the necessary repairs.
By Sunday the lane was open again. An East Brunswick police dispatcher told NJBallot the lane was open, and an NJDOT dispatcher said a contractor had finished the repair work, which should be permanent. Neither agency had posted a formal reopening announcement as of Sunday.
State records show this hole has company.
Four times since 2021
July 16, 2021: Emergency sinkhole repairs shut two northbound left lanes south of Eggers Street, an NJDOT advisory said.
April 1, 2022: Emergency sinkhole repairs closed the southbound left lane near Tices Road, an NJDOT advisory said.
May 31, 2025: A possible sinkhole closed the southbound left lane near Ruth Street. It reopened the same day, TAPinto reported.
July 24, 2026: Friday's hole, between Rues Lane and Main Street.
No agency has ever stated a cause for any of them.
What is under Route 18
The road itself dates to 1932, and its last major rebuild came in 1960, when the shoulders became third lanes, an industry profile of the current project reports. Beneath the pavement, the profile reports, sit water and gas lines some 60 years old and a corrugated metal drainage system NJDOT's project documents describe as "unable to handle major storm events." The documents also list deteriorated pavement with substandard cross slopes; in heavy rain, the profile reports, stormwater spreads across the lanes.
The ground matters as much as the pipes. The corridor sits on the inner Coastal Plain, on loose sand, state geologic surveys show.
Then there is the weather. State climate records show three of the four holes followed historically wet periods: a week after Tropical Storm Elsa in the eighth-wettest July on record, at the end of the fifth-wettest May on record and 15 days after a July 9 flash flood that, news outlets reported, dropped nearly two inches of rain in an hour on the area. The fourth followed a dry March. Whether weather caused any of them, no one in authority has said.
The fix, and what it cannot answer yet
The state's fix has been underway since January 2023, on a contract for $86,113,513.13 awarded to Earle Asphalt Company of Wall in June 2022. Crews are swapping the metal drainage pipe for concrete, rebuilding the right lane in each direction and correcting the slopes that send stormwater across the road.
"We're replacing the entire length of 4-plus miles of water and gas utilities," Jignesh Patel, the department's resident engineer, told an industry publication. The township's project page lists completion in fall 2026.
Two of the four holes opened after that work began. And while the state confirmed to NJBallot that Friday's hole sits inside the project limits, officials could not say whether crews had already replaced the drainage beneath that spot or had yet to reach it. Earle Asphalt could not be reached for comment.
Days before the collapse, NJDOT crews had been resetting drainage inlets overnight along the southbound lanes between Arthur Street and Rues Lane, a July 22 advisory said.
The bottom line for drivers
The lane is open, dispatchers for both agencies said Sunday.
Report a hazard on Route 18: NJDOT Central Dispatch, 609-588-6212, staffed 24 hours. Questions about the project: the NJDOT press office, 609-963-1975, or Patel at 732-695-7882.
Four holes. One unanswered question: what keeps opening the ground under Route 18?
Sources
East Brunswick Police Department, official X feed, July 24, 2026, sinkhole advisory with photo
East Brunswick Police Department, official X feed, July 25, 2026, NJDOT repair update
ABC7 New York, July 25, 2026, "Sinkhole opens up on Route 18 in New Jersey"
News 12 New Jersey, July 25, 2026, "Sinkhole stalls traffic on Route 18 in East Brunswick"
New Jersey Department of Transportation, traffic advisory, July 22, 2026, Route 18 overnight closures, East Brunswick
New Jersey Department of Transportation, traffic advisory, July 16, 2021, emergency sinkhole repair, Route 18, East Brunswick
New Jersey Department of Transportation, traffic advisory, April 1, 2022, emergency sinkhole repair, Route 18, East Brunswick
East Brunswick Police Department, traffic alert, May 31, 2025, possible sinkhole near Ruth Street
TAPinto East Brunswick, May 31, 2025, "Route 18 South reopened at Ruth Street"
New Jersey Department of Transportation, Route 18 East Brunswick Drainage and Pavement Rehabilitation project page and FAQ
New Jersey Department of Transportation, Route 18 project Final Design and Construction page
New Jersey Department of Transportation, Construction Services, 2022 Awarded Projects, Contract 035103540
East Brunswick Township, Route 18 Rehabilitation Project page
Construction Equipment magazine, Route 18 East Brunswick project profile, quoting resident engineer Jignesh Patel
Office of the New Jersey State Climatologist, monthly recap, July 2021
Office of the New Jersey State Climatologist, monthly recap, May 2025
Office of the New Jersey State Climatologist, monthly recap, March 2022
MyCentralJersey, July 9, 2026, flash flood rainfall, New Brunswick and East Brunswick
FOX 5 New York, July 9, 2026, flooding on Routes 1, 18, 27, 35 and 130
New Jersey Geological Survey, OFM 23, "Geology of the New Brunswick Quadrangle"
New Jersey Geological and Water Survey, "The Fall Line" information circular
NJDOT Central Dispatch, telephone call, July 26, 2026
East Brunswick Police Department dispatch, telephone call, July 26, 2026
New Jersey Department of Transportation, Office of News Relations, telephone call, July 2026