West Windsor residents called on township officials to push for an overpass over Route 1 at Harrison Street — as called for in the long-discussed Penns Neck EIS of years ago — instead of the proposed Route 1 changes the state Department of Transportation has released.
Residents responded to the proposed ideas during the Township Council’s meeting on November 8, saying now was the time to call for the overpass.
The DOT’s latest idea to ease congestion on Route 1 proposes a modification of the jughandles at Harrison Street and Washington Road, barring traffic on Route 1 north from entering Princeton between Alexander Road in West Windsor and Scudders Mill Road in Plainsboro.
Washington Road (which features a quasi-circle at a traffic light) and Harrison Street (which features a jughandle at a traffic light) create backups that ripple down the road at peak hours. By altering the jughandles and changing the timing so that there are longer greens for Route 1 drivers, the back-ups will ease, DOT officials say.
For motorists on Washington Road (Route 571) heading toward Princeton, nothing will change except the duration of their red light (though by how much no one knows yet). Drivers on Washington Road will still be able to make a left onto Route 1 South, a right onto Route 1 North, or go straight across into Princeton.
The changes only affect motorists on Route 1 North, who will either need to get into Princeton via Alexander Road or head north to Scudders Mill Road, where they will have to turn around, head south, and make a right onto Harrison Street at the Sunoco station.
The mouth of Harrison Street will be widened to accommodate the increase in southbound traffic.
The current DOT ideas for this area of Route 1 have been scaled down dramatically since a decade ago when the department considered eliminating the traffic lights at Washington Road and Harrison Street and building an overpass at Harrison, similar to that at Meadow Road.
But the bypass project was estimated at $190 million and when nothing materialized over the years, DOT finally pulled the funding for the project in 2008. The DOT’s current plans run about $2 million.
However, the DOT’s new plans do not address Fisher Place, said resident Guy Pierson, who said he was present at the discussions for the Penns Neck EIS. He pointed to the township’s Master Plan, which currently calls for the Penns Neck Bypass as among the major projects to go forward between 2008 and 2012.
“This is the best opportunity to have a bypass,” he said.
With Governor Chris Christie pulling the plug on the $8.7 billion project to construct a rail tunnel between New Jersey and New York, there should be more money at the state level to construct the project, said Pierson.
“It’s time for us to stop being one of the mules pulling the wagon” and lead the effort to get the bypass idea resurrected, said Pierson.
Resident Al Lerner also supported the idea of a bypass. “There is so much good that will accrue from an overpass at that particular spot that I suggest that if possible, some sort of joint undertaking between Princeton and West Windsor be initiated to see if they can put both of their clout together and just push this thing,” he said. “It’s just the obvious thing that has to happen.”
In response to the DOT’s plans, the mayors of West Windsor and Plainsboro as well as Princeton Borough and Township, Lawrence, and South Brunswick sent a letter, written by West Windsor Mayor Shing-Fu Hsueh, to DOT commissioner James Simpson that requests further discussion between Simpson, the mayors, and representatives from Princeton University and the Princeton Healthcare Systems over what the coalition sees as significant points to consider.
