West Windsor officials are stepping up pressure on state and federal leaders to declare a State of Emergency over the prolonged closure of the Clarksville Road bridge.
The Township Council on Feb. 24 adopted a resolution formally petitioning Gov. Mikie Sherrill to issue an executive order declaring a State of Emergency for the Clarksville Road corridor.
The bridge, which carries Clarksville Road over Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor rail line, was taken out of service Nov. 2 after inspections found severe corrosion in several structural elements. The road remains closed between Meadow Road and Everett Drive.
A timer on the township’s website counts down the months, days, hours and minutes that the bridge has been out.
Mayor Hemant Marathe has criticized Amtrak for delays in issuing a required permit allowing the state Department of Transportation to inspect the bridge, a step needed before repair options and timelines can be finalized.
“Unfortunately due to slow responses by Amtrak to NJ DOT there has not been much progress,” Marathe said. “I have been actively at work with both NJDOT and Amtrak, as well as the County, to make everyone understand the urgency of moving this project forward.”
The council resolution states that the bridge carries some 15,000 vehicles daily and serves as a critical artery for access to the Princeton Junction train station, residential neighborhoods, businesses and emergency routes.
According to the resolution, emergency response times for West Windsor fire, EMS and county hazmat teams have been extended up to four times their normal length. Police have reported double the normal rate of traffic accidents on detour routes.
More than 1,200 residents are directly isolated by the closure, according to the resolution, while more than 30,000 West Windsor residents and 25,000 Plainsboro residents are indirectly affected through the joint school district and surrounding road network.
Small businesses along the Clarksville Road corridor, particularly in the Village Square shopping center, have reported revenue losses exceeding 50 percent.
The resolution states the bridge was previously deemed structurally deficient and functionally obsolete and was endorsed for replacement under a NJDOT preliminary preferred alternative plan adopted by the township in August 2022.
The council is asking the governor to elevate the bridge from what it calls a “local maintenance issue” to a “critical safety crisis,” authorize emergency procurement procedures, intervene with the U.S. Department of Transportation to compel Amtrak to prioritize track outages and expedite both temporary repairs and permanent replacement.
Officials also referenced Executive Order No. 383, issued in 2025 for Route 80 sinkholes, as a precedent for bypassing administrative delays and expediting emergency infrastructure work.
The resolution further requests activation of the N.J. Economic Development Authority to establish a business assistance grant program for affected merchants and to facilitate access to federal Small Business Administration Economic Injury Disaster Loans.
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West Windsor-Plainsboro School District officials also formally urged the governor to act.
In a Feb. 24 letter, Superintendent David Aderhold and Board of Education President Graelynn McKeown said that the closure has created “a severe crisis for our community.”
“This excessive traffic volume has led to double the normal rates of traffic accidents, severely compromising the safety of our school bus routes and walking paths,” they said.
The letter also states that emergency response times for fire, EMS and hazmat teams have often been extended to four times their normal length, “significantly putting our students, staff and residents at risk.”
Mercer County Executive Dan Benson also sent a letter to the governor requesting a Temporary State of Emergency.
Benson described the bridge as a DOT-maintained “orphan bridge, and that construction of a permanent replacement could take five to seven years to complete.
Benson said the prolonged shutdown has created widespread consequences for commuters, neighborhoods and the local economy.
“The closure has created substantial traffic congestion and has made access to the Princeton Junction train station considerably more difficult,” Benson said.
He added: “For local busineses, the closure had effectively cut off customer access, threatening their ability to remain viable.”
He also cited the significant adverse impact on residents in the nearby Berrien City, Eaves by Avalon and Princeton Junction neighborhoods.
Meanwhile, a Change.org petition with more than 1,700 signatures echoes those concerns, describing “traffic chaos” and calling for transparency regarding the repair timeline.
The petition asks Gov. Sherrill to declare the closure a State of Emergency to allow expedited repairs and potential federal support for affected businesses.
In a recent social media post, Council President Sonia Gawas thanked a growing list of local, county, state and federal leaders who have added to the calls for immediate relief, including State Sen. Shirley Turner, Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman, Sen. Andy Kim and Sen. Cory Booker.
The Mercer County Board of Commissioners, Plainsboro Mayor Ed Yates and Committeeman Neil Lewis have also agreed to introduce a similar resolution.
The mayor has said the permit from Amtrak is necessary only for the inspection phase and that work over active rail lines is routine.
“There is nothing unique or special about the Clarksville Road Bridge,” Marathe said. “I can’t understand why it takes Amtrak over 3 months to simply issue a permit.”
He added that he’s “very frustrated with the ‘business as usual’ attitude” displayed by the company.
“Amtrak is funded by taxpayers and has shown complete disregard to them,” Marathe said.
A vintage image of the Clarksville Road Bridge (Historical Society of West Windsor photo.),
There is a significant amount of structural corrosion in need of repair on the Clarksville Road Bridge. (Facebook photo.)
