As construction crews prepare to remove median barriers and install pre-cast construction barriers on the Millstone River bridge on Route 1 — as part of the ongoing replacement project — a new traffic pattern will be in place for the northbound lanes beginning Friday, July 17.
According to an advanced traffic impact notice sent to the township from the state Department of Transportation, under which the project is being done, there will be temporary lane closures on the northbound side to shift traffic overnight on July 17. There will be two lanes closed from 11 p.m. on July 17 to 4 a.m. on July 18, and one lane closed from 4 to 9 a.m. on Saturday, July 18.
On the southbound side, lane closures are scheduled for Friday, July 24. Two lanes will be closed there from 11 p.m. on July 24 to 4 a.m. on Saturday, July 25. One lane will be closed from 4 to 9 a.m. on July 25.
After July 17, the three northbound lanes will be shifted to the right. On the southbound side, after July 24, three lanes of traffic will be shifted to the left.
The new traffic pattern is being implemented to shift traffic to the east while construction crews utilize a work zone on the westerly portion of Route 1.
According to DOT spokesman Tim Greeley, utility relocation and some minor demolition work on the existing bridge sidewalks and parapets is currently on-going. The state Department of Transportation began work in March to replace the bridge on Route 1 over the Millstone River, a project that was part of the 2008-2011 Statewide Transportation Improvement Program.
The bridge replacement is the only one of three major roadway improvement projects affecting West Windsor that the state has kept in its 10-year capital program. The two others — the Vaughn Drive Connector, estimated at $19 million, and the Penns Neck Improvements, estimated at $159 million, were removed from the state’s budget in 2007 after what state officials deemed a lack of movement from the township on a redevelopment plan.
However, the Millstone River bridge replacement, estimated to cost more than $8 million, remained on the list because it lies on the township’s border with Plainsboro.
The Millstone River bridge was constructed in 1928 and rehabilitated in 1959. The existing bridge is 104 feet long and 76 feet wide and carries six travel lanes on Route 1 with no shoulders or sidewalks on either side. The bridge also carries gas, water, telephone, and fiberoptic utilities.
But it is in poor condition. The new structure will be two spans, 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. The state is fully funding the project. Construction is expected to be completed by July, 2010.
