UPDATE - Friday, May 3rd 3:30 p.m. - Garden State Parkway officials are saying that Exit 81 will not close tonight, and that work there will not begin until the middle of May. Click here for the update.

Original story follows.

If you normally take Exit 81 on the Garden State Parkway southbound to get into Toms River, you'll need to make a detour plan this Friday.

You may have noticed the sign that went up this week alerting drivers to the roadwork that is scheduled to close the exit from 6 p.m. on Friday until 6 a.m. on Saturday - May 3rd & 4th.

Of course, you could always get off the Parkway earlier at Exit 82 (Route 37) and head down Main Street if Water Street/Lakehurst Road is your destination.

And thankfully, if the closure takes you by surprise, having to get off at Exit 80 (Dover Road) may be inconvenient, but it's not the end of the world.

This past weekend I actually forgot something at my dad's house in Union County, I was already in the express lane on the Parkway, and I had to go all the way to Exit 105 before I could turn around.

So, thankfully, missing Exit 81 won't send you on that much of an odyssey, but it's definitely good to be prepared in advance!