Just weeks after the West Windsor Township Council passed a resolution supporting Mayor Shing-Fu Hsueh’s efforts to regain $19 million in state funding for the Vaughn Drive connector project, state officials have responded.##M:[more]##
While their response indicated they were not including the funding in this year’s state budget, the mayor is says he is optimistically looking at their written promise to dedicate that money once a redevelopment plan has been drafted and put into action. And Hsueh is emphasizing that this is why such a plan is so necessary.
The Vaughn Drive connector road, which Hsueh estimated to be about a mile long, would connect Alexander and Washington roads. The connector road, originally part of the Route 1/Penns Neck Improvements project put forth by the state, came from the final Environmental Impact Statement on the Penns Neck area that was conducted about half a decade ago. But the Vaughn Drive connector was broken out as a separate project once the state heard that redevelopment near the train station would happen in West Windsor, Hsueh said. Originally, all three projects were not supposed to be considered by the state until after 2016, he added.
State officials told Hsueh in February that their half of the funding for the Vaughn Drive connector project was dropped because a redevelopment plan had not yet been created. Hsueh reported this to the council, who followed with a resolution stating their support of the mayor in his efforts to regain that funding.
Hsueh received a letter from Department of Transportation Executive Director David A. Kuhn on March 11 stating that the “Vaughn Drive Connector was provided with funding in Fiscal Year 2008 because of representations by the Township of West Windsor that a redevelopment plan would be forthcoming and that this project was a critical part of that plan.”
“At that time, the NJDOT was agreeable to partner with the township by supporting this project and providing funding at 50 percent, with the other 50 percent to be provided as part of the redevelopment funding,” the letter states.
The letter states that the Vaughn Drive connector project, along with the Route 1 Penns Neck improvement projects, were moved to the unfunded category of the state Fiscal Year 2009-2018 draft, while funding for the Millstone River Bridge Project would remain funded this year.
“Because this plan was not established, these projects, with the exception of the Millstone River Bridge Project, were moved to the unfunded category of the Fiscal Year 2009-2018 draft program,” the letter states.
“Although the projects did not make the 10-year Capital Program this year, NJDOT is committed to considering the projects for inclusion in the future, once West Windsor provides the department with its mixed-use development plans for the area west of the Northeast Corridor line of which the Vaughn Drive Connector is a part,” the letter further states.
But Councilman Charles Morgan says he feels the move was “a politically correct reason, rather than the real reason,” the money was held. “The real reason is the state’s in a budget crunch.”
“They reiterated their commitment to funding the project, and there’s no question they will fund the project,” Morgan added. “Without their funding, redevelopment won’t happen.”
Hsueh reiterated that the state would commit half of the money — which is estimated at $19 million right now, but could change depending on development costs at the time — with the township responsible for the other half. But, Hsueh said, “we expect this 50 percent will be coming from developers,” once the plan is in place.
And that’s based on whether the township “can show what property owners will get out of this,” he said, referring to the redevelopment plan. About four or five landowners, including Steve Goldin’s Intercap Holdings, would have their properties affected by the construction of the Vaughn Drive connector. Those developers would have to contribute a portion of their properties to the roadway, which can be negotiated, but only if the township has a redevelopment plan, Hsueh said.
Hsueh pointed out that “basically, this is the first time we got a letter in writing” from the DOT stating that once the plan is in place, 50 percent of the cost for Vaughn Drive would be available.
“I’m still optimistic,” Hsueh said. “I’m hoping by the end of this year, we will have something to move forward with.”
The Millstone River Bridge Replacement project — which is estimated to cost $8.1 million — will begin this year, and will be completely funded by the state, Hsueh said. The project entails replacing the bridge over the Millstone River on Route 1. The new structure, according to state documents, will be 110 feet long and 126 feet wide, and will accommodate six travel lanes with full shoulders, auxiliary lanes for bicycles, and two sidewalks for pedestrians.
Funding for the Penns Neck improvements total almost $200 million, and would also be provided fully by the state, Hsueh said.
Morgan said the state’s funding of the Millstone River Bridge Replacement project was a “no brainer” because the bridge, built in 1929, “is one of the most functionally defunct” bridges in the state.
“The Vaughn Drive connector is not a functionally defunct bridge.”
Morgan reiterated he, Council President Will Anklowitz, and Councilman George Borek “never said we were against redevelopment.”
“I have only been concerned about scope and scale, and making sure we address the most important priorities first,” which include parking, the main street on 571, and infrastructure. “The Vaughn Drive connector is integral to those,” he said. But, “you don’t need a comprehensive plan for the entirety of the 350 acres to address those priorities.”
“We will do this right,” Morgan said.
Anklowitz said the Vaughn Drive connector was part of the Penns Neck EIS, and part of the reason it was included was to help move traffic around the train station to take some traffic pressure off Penns Neck. “The idea that we’re doing redevelopment is only something that came about recently,” he said.
He said the idea of smart growth means taking advantage of infrastructure that already exists and that traffic needs to move in and out of the area. “I call upon the governor’s office to live up to smart growth and to fund the Vaughn Drive connector,” before this year’s state budget is passed. “The deal’s not a deal until the check clears the bank,” he added. “I want to know that the money is there to back up the check.”
