While motorists continue to deal with new traffic patterns as a result of the Meadow Road closure and lane shifts on Route 1 over the Millstone River bridge, officials have begun work on two more road projects — one of them just slightly south from the Millstone River on Route 1.
On August 6, the state Department of Transportation announced that it will resurface a two-mile stretch of Route 1 from West Windsor to Lawrence. The $2.9 million project is being funded as part of the federal stimulus money distributed to under the Federal Stimulus Bill signed by President Barack Obama over the winter.
The project will resurface the roadway in both directions, from north of Quakerbridge Road south past the highway’s intersection with Interstate 295.
Throughout the project, the press release states, the DOT will implement overnight single and double lane closures on both sides of the road for the resurfacing, but one lane of traffic will be maintained on Route 1 in both directions at all times during construction. Lane closings will be at night and weekends.
The DOT said it will also install message signs on Route 1 to inform motorists of traffic pattern changes during construction. Construction information will also be available at www.nj511.info.
Meanwhile, the another road project has also begun in another part of West Windsor. Township officials announced that the county has begun a project to install a crosswalk between Avalon Watch and the Village Square Shopping Center on Clarksville Road.
This project includes installation of an in-pavement lighting system and flashing signs, all solar powered, according to West Windsor officials. Construction of a median island as a pedestrian refuge is also proposed with a stamped concrete pattern. Left-turn lanes into Avalon Watch and the Village Square Shopping Center will also be constructed.
The project, being done by Orchard Holdings is being funded through a DOT grant and through Mercer County, West Windsor officials said.
“The county is going to come with a median, an island, so people will be more comfortable in crossing,” said Mayor Shing-Fu Hsueh.
Clarksville Road will remain open to traffic in both directions, and if closures are required, they will occur in one direction with alternating flow for a very short duration and during non-peak hours. The project is anticipated to be completed by the end of August.
Hsueh also said that other modifications, including a repaving of a section of it, are on the horizon for Clarksville Road, which, to some extent, will also be paid by the stimulus.
All together, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act allocated $652 million for highways and bridges and approximately $425 million for transit — which includes $164 million for county and local transportation priorities and $19.5 million for transportation enhancement projects.
