Parkway's Ocean View service plaza closes for renovations

Motorists will be out of luck if they stop at the Garden State Parkway’s southernmost service plaza to buy food or gas or to use the restrooms.

The Ocean View rest stop in Cape May County, just outside of Sea Isle City near Exit 17, closed down Tuesday for renovations to the convenience store and Sunoco fuel pump area.

“There will be no fuel, no food, and no restrooms until it reopens,” said Tom Feeney, a spokesman for the New Jersey Turnpike Authority, the agency that operates the Parkway.

Renovations to the convenience store and gas pumps are expected to take about two months to complete, Feeney said. The New Jersey Tourism Information Center inside the building will also be closed during construction.

However, New Jersey Transit bus service will continue to operate from the service plaza. The parking lot surrounding the building will remain open, including the areas used by commuters, Feeney said.

The renovations are being done by Sunoco, which has a 25-year agreement with the New Jersey Turnpike Authority to operate the convenience store and fuel pumps.

“It's a Sunoco project. They will be refreshing the interior of the building, the fuel pumps, and the canopy,” Feeney said.

    The Ocean View service plaza includes a Sunoco gas station.
  

Ocean View serves as the southernmost service plaza on the Parkway and is the only one in Cape May County. The Parkway’s next closest service plaza is about 23 miles north, near Exit 41 in Galloway Township, Atlantic County.

For local motorists, the Ocean View service plaza serves as a shortcut that allows them to make a U-turn from the Parkway’s northbound lanes to the southbound side, heading back toward Exit 17 and Sea Isle City. Motorists will still be able to make the U-turn during Ocean View’s renovation project.

In 2024, the Ocean View service plaza was formally named in honor of movie star Bruce Willis. The New Jersey Turnpike Authority adopted a memorandum of understanding in 2021 allowing the New Jersey Hall of Fame to rename the Parkway’s nine service plazas in honor of Hall of Fame inductees in the arts, entertainment and sports.

Willis, who starred in the “Die Hard” films, is a New Jersey Hall of Fame inductee. His movie career came to an end in 2023 when his family announced that the actor was diagnosed with a form of dementia.

Although Willis was raised in Salem County, N.J., his ties to Cape May County are nebulous. Cape May County officials had urged the New Jersey Turnpike Authority to instead name the Ocean View service plaza in honor of a military veteran or community leader who has deep roots in Cape May County.

    The Ocean View service plaza was renamed in honor of actor and New Jersey native Bruce Willis in 2024. (Courtesy of Greg Haps on Facebook)