On a Friday in late February, under a clear blue sky and warm sunshine, it wasn’t eastbound summer traffic on Route 72 in Stafford Township that backed up motorists on the state highway in the early afternoon. Instead, the jam was the result of road work in the area of Marsha Drive that isn’t expected to resume until fall due to a state restriction there through the end of June.

The N.J. Department of Transportation didn’t respond to an inquiry about what work was being done in the Marsha Drive…