As if the highways in New Jersey couldn't get any worse -- two Central Jersey rest stops will be closing after Labor Day for planned renovations.

Starting after Sept. 3, the Thomas Edison service area on the Turnpike in Woodbridge and the Monmouth service area in Wall on the Parkway will be closed for major improvements, new facilities and restaurants, Turnpike Authority spokesman Thomas Feeney said.

Both plazas will be closed entirely until they reopen for Memorial Day 2019 -- which means no restrooms or fuel facilities, Feeney said.

Though there has been no decision yet on what stores will be offered at the revamped facilities, drivers can peek into the new Grover Cleveland building on the Turnpike or the Atlantic service area on the Parkway for a hint at what the new buildings could include, officials said.

The renovations of 16 rest areas in the Garden State, announced by former Gov. Chris Christie in Aug. 2017, will cost $250 million, but at no cost to taxpayers. HMSHost and Sunoco will fund the projects, in exchange for new contracts to keep operating the food and fuel concessions there for the next 25 years, Feeney explained.

But the temporary closings will also cost more than 280 HMSHost employees their jobs, company spokesperson Shayna Iglesias confirmed.

Managers will be temporarily relocated, and the Maryland-based company will relocate other hourly associates to various mall and airports around the state, she said.

When the service areas reopen around Memorial Day 2019, all associates will be eligible for rehire, Iglesias noted.

"We intend to create more job opportunities in the region with an increase in our overall workforce," she added.

The Thomas Edison rest area, one of the busiest and biggest facilities, will reopen a new facility about the same size in 2019, and cost roughly $14.9 million, officials said.

Monmouth service area, the first rest stop on the Parkway to be replaced, will cost roughly $11.45 million.

Sophie Nieto-Munoz may be reached at snietomunoz@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her at @snietomunoz. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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