Harding Rest Area

 abandoned / shut down, rest area

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Formerly included indoor vending and rest rooms. The building was closed at the end of 2006 to cut costs for NJDOT. Parking is still available.

www.state.nj.us/transportation/about/press/2006/122206....

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Although labeled as "open", this highway rest stop is, for all intents and purposes, abandoned. A recent visit (2007 July 14) confirms that the following conditions have prevailed for months:

** The rest area exit signs warn "Building closed", and the building is indeed not merely closed, but completely sealed off by a tall, close-fitting, chain-link fence.

** Outdoors, a few portable chemical toilets are present, but the one examined was covered in graffiti, empty of toilet paper, and full of human waste. Adequate servicing does not occur.

** All of the outdoor trash cans (10 out of 10) are overflowing with garbage. In several cases, motorists who had stopped here had contributed their own boxes or bags to hold the overflowing garbage, but those, too, are overflowing. Adequate servicing does not occur.

Travelers should avoid this location.