State DOT concurs on intersection realignment

The Department of Transportation will soon begin preliminary work to line up Hankins and Conover roads at their intersection with Route 130.

By: Chris Karmiol
   EAST WINDSOR — The New Jersey Department of Transportation has agreed on a proposed improvement concept for the intersection of Route 130, Hankins Road and Conover Road.
   According to a press release from East Windsor Township, a single-point alignment of Hankins and Conover roads with a traffic signal at the intersection with Route 130, and left-turning lanes and traffic lights is the concept the township proposed. The DOT agreed this was the preferred arrangement.
   According to the township’s release, increased development along Conover and Airport roads is bringing more vehicles into the area, and "safety improvements are desirable to facilitate safe turning movements."
   Although several options for safety improvements were developed by the DOT, including jughandles and full-grade separation, the Township Council supported the direct alignment proposal.
   "We believe that the direct approach is simpler, less expensive and takes less land in East Windsor and Washington Township," Mayor Mironov wrote in letters sent to the DOT.
   Hankins Road, on the west side of Route 130, serves as a border between East Windsor and Washington. Conover Road intersects with Route 130 on the east side of the road just north of the Hankins Road intersection and is located entirely in East Windsor. The new alignment will bring the two roads into alignment with each other across Route 130.
   This concept proposal will now move to scoping and engineering, according to the township. The DOT will meet with township officials again in May to review progress of the proposal.