JAMESBURG Construction of the long-awaited traffic signal at the Perrineville Road and Forsgate Drive intersection may begin within the next several months.
By:Nick D’Amore
JAMESBURG Construction of the long-awaited traffic signal at the Perrineville Road and Forsgate Drive intersection may begin within the next several months.
Ken Preteroti, the Middlesex County supervising engineer, said that once the borough acquires the necessary land for the signal and the state gives its final authorization, construction will begin.
"We anticipate the final right of way documents to be submitted by the end of the month," he said.
Those documents will tell the borough what land to acquire.
Mayor Tony LaMantia said that as soon as Borough Engineer Alan Dittenhofer gets those documents, the acquisition process will begin. The acquisition process will take a few weeks once the paperwork is done, the mayor said.
A traffic light at the intersection has been discussed by the borough and county since 1998 because of frequent accidents. A four-way stop was put in place in May 2000, Mr. Preteroti said. In August of that year, Councilman Sam Cline said it had reduced the number of accidents, but that accidents were still occurring and that more was needed.
The cost of the signal could be between $350,000 and $500,000, possibly more. The county will foot the bill for the entire cost of the construction, with the borough paying for land acquisition. Borough Attorney Fred Raffetto said an appraiser will determine the fair market value of the property.
Mr. Preteroti said he will meet with a traffic consultant to go over some right of way issues and that he expects the documents will be sent to the borough by the end of the month.
He said that once the borough acquires the land, the construction will start within 60 days.
Mr. Preteroti said the county had initially submitted plans to the state in July 2001. The state then commented on the plans in October 2001 and the county resubmitted them in November.
"Now, we are waiting for final authorization from the state," he said.
He said final state authorization probably will come in February.
Mayor LaMantia said the acquisition consists of purchasing some corners of land to provide the radius needed for the signal’s construction.
Mr. Preteroti said that once construction starts it will take about three months to complete work on the intersection.
Once completed, there will be two lanes for traffic on Perrineville Road and Forsgate Drive. One will be a left-turn-only lane and the other will be a straight and right-turn lane. Mr. Preteroti said there will be a left-turn arrow as well.
Additionally, drivers will not be able to access the intersection from Willow Street, currently the "fifth-leg" of the intersection, he said.