PACKET EDITORIAL, April 2
By: Packet Editorial
Like a good mystery that keeps you gripped with its twists and turns, the suspenseful saga of the Alexander Road bridge goes on and on. Just when you thought the state Department of Transportation and West Windsor officials might solve the puzzle of what to do about this dilapidated old structure a span whose function is to link traffic on two sides of the Northeast Corridor railroad tracks but whose future seems only to separate West Windsor neighborhoods into warring camps the plot thickens.
The DOT has now ruled out Option 1 realigning the bridge so that Alexander Road would run straight across the railroad tracks and right smack through the middle of West Windsor’s Berrien City neighborhood. This is wonderful news, of course, to Berrien City residents, who had mounted an impressive letter-writing campaign laying out a million and one reasons why Option 1 should be removed from consideration.
But wait there’s more. The DOT also told West Windsor officials that the state will provide funding only for Option 3 rebuilding the Alexander Road bridge at its present location. Berrien City residents oppose Option 3 almost as ardently as they oppose Option 1, for another million and one reasons though, truth be told, all two million and two reasons really come down to the same thing: Berrien City residents want the traffic that traverses the Alexander Road bridge to go through somebody else’s neighborhood. They are joined in this view by residents of Windsor Haven on the west side of the tracks.
Not surprisingly, virtually all of the other affected neighborhoods on the east side of the tracks have been fighting against Options 2 and 4 realigning the Alexander Road bridge with North Post Road (Option 2) or Everett Drive (Option 4) precisely because these options would reroute traffic from Berrien City into places like Benford Estates, Wellington and Sunrise. These folks are thrilled that the DOT will fund only Option 3; keeping the bridge where it is represents the "compromise" solution they’ve been touting in their own, well-orchestrated letter-writing campaign.
This puts West Windsor officials on the spot. The state now says it will pay only for Option 3. If the township wants to pursue Option 2 (which happens to be the route that’s been on the Master Plan for years) or Option 4 (which may actually affect the fewest residents but is also the most expensive), it will have to come up with the additional money itself. And we’re not talking chump change here; we’re talking several million dollars above and beyond what the DOT will pay for rebuilding the bridge in its current location if West Windsor wants to pursue any of these other options.
From a purely financial standpoint, this may be a no-brainer. It is hard to imagine that large numbers of West Windsor residents, outside Berrien City and Windsor Haven, will favor spending local tax money to build a new, realigned Alexander Road bridge if the state is willing to foot the bill for rebuilding the bridge where it is.
On the other hand, just because the DOT says it will pay only for Option 3 doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the best option. The rebuilt Alexander Road bridge will still carry eastbound traffic to the same T-intersection where it comes to a standstill today; even the addition of a traffic light won’t unsnarl the rush-hour bottleneck at this intersection in fact it may worsen it and anticipated growth in the area, including the mammoth Toll Brothers’ project on Bear Brook Road, will strain the capacity of this intersection even further.
So stay tuned. This latest twist may take the epic tale of the Alexander Road bridge in a new direction both figuratively and literally. But it hasn’t yet reached its exciting conclusion. Not by a long shot.