Uncertainty over road alignment leaves institute in ‘limbo’
By: David M. Campbell
WEST WINDSOR – The Eden Institute is expected to ask the Planning Board on Wednesday night to allow a delay in the construction of the institute’s new headquarters until the alignment of the Millstone Bypass has been determined.
Eden, a school for autistic children and adults, is currently housed in the old AT&T building on Route 1 and in additional buildings on Logan Drive. It has planned to relocate to Harrison Street and Logan Drive.
The institute has long been concerned about the AT&T building’s state of disrepair, according to Executive Director Dr. David Holmes. It has planned a new campus consisting of a 29,615-square-foot main building for educational and employment programs for students between 3 and 21 years old, and a 3,332-square-foot "toddler building," a residential facility for children 3 years old and younger.
The proposed campus would have abutted the Millstone Bypass, a 2.3-mile alignment proposed by the state Department of Transportation that would connect Route 571, near the Princeton Junction train station, to Washington Road, near Carnegie Lake, running parallel to the Millstone River and Delaware & Raritan Canal.
Funding for Eden’s new campus is contingent upon the bypass being built, through an arrangement among Eden, the DOT and Princeton University in which the university funds the construction and is reimbursed by the DOT.
But Gov. Christie Whitman’s decision earlier this month requiring the DOT to conduct an environmental impact statement of the roadway, a thorough public review of alternative alignments, has halted Eden’s plans. The statement is expected to take up to two years to complete.
The DOT earlier had recommended against the environmental impact statement, concluding that the bypass posed no significant environmental impacts, and expected construction to begin sometime next year.
Dr. Holmes said Eden will be in "limbo" until the bypass alignment is determined.
"We’re like the bride brought to the altar and the groom never showed up," Dr. Holmes said at the time of the governor’s unexpected decision. "We’re trying to live as best we can under relatively poor conditions, and that’s the tough part of what Eden’s trying to do for these kids."