The third and final phase of detours associated with the Meadow Road reconstruction began this month.
This phase of the detour closes Meadow Road north of Bear Brook Road to Old Meadow Road — the same as the detour during the first phase. The second phase detour, which has been in place over the past few months, closed the road south of Bear Brook Road to Clarksville Road. That portion will now be open now for the duration of the third detour.
The next phase of the reconstruction project began just shortly after the Township Council introduced three ordinances to allow the acquisition of easements from three property owners for road widening, utility, and drainage associated with the Meadow Road reconstruction project and the sanitary sewer extension of the Duck Pond Run interceptor.
Public hearings on those ordinances are scheduled for Tuesday, February 16. Two of the property owners — Palladium Realty LLC (which represents the Mack-Cali Realty Corporation) and Princeton Land Partners LLC — have come to an agreement with the township and are not seeking compensation for the acquisitions. According to the ordinances, each property owner has agreed to accept $1 from the township.
However, the township is using eminent domain to acquire portions of the property belonging to West Windsor Realty Trust because it has “done everything imaginable to try to get the property owner to agree,” said Township Attorney Michael Herbert. According to the ordinance, the township will be required to pay a fair market value of $55,600 to the property owner.
The project, which began last June, entails realigning the 90-degree curve so that Meadow Road from Bear Brook will go directly to the bridge and to Route 1 and Carnegie Center in a straight line.
The project also includes the installation of new gravity sanitary sewer trunkline, with several new service laterals, from Old Meadow Road to Clarksville Road and construction of a cul-de-sac at Old Meadow Road (south of the apartments) and conversion of the east-west leg of Old Meadow Road to a service road.
