County to help pay for bridge

Plans for new bridge construction are under way.

By:Rebecca Tokarz
   Construction on a new bridge that would carry trucks to the industrial district of Cranbury could begin as early as the summer.
   Monday, the Township Committee adopted a resolution executing an interlocal agreement between the township and Middlesex County for the construction of the proposed bridge along portions of Liberty Way in Cranbury, formerly called Master Plan Road, which links South River Road to Station Road in the warehouse district east of Route 130.
   Under the agreement, the county will design the bridge and absorb all of the costs for engineering and design of the project, which will take trucks over the Cranbury Brook and the eastern portion of Brainerd Lake .
   In addition, the county also has agreed to pay for 50 percent of the cost of construction with the township responsible for the remainder. While construction specifications are unknown at this time, the overall cost of the project is estimated at $1 million.
   Assistant County Engineer Rich Wallner called the bridge construction a "substantial project," but could not provide a time frame for the project’s completion.
   The time frame will depend on property acquisition or the discovery of wetlands in the construction area, Mr. Wallner said.
   Regardless of the time frame for the project, when completed, the bridge will be a significant addition to the township.
   "It becomes a truck route through the warehouse district so that less truck traffic might exit (N.J. Turnpike) Exit 8A and use Route 130," Mayor Pari Stave said.
   The township is looking to apply for a state Transportation Trust Fund grant in July that would help subsidize the cost the township will have to pay under its portion of the agreement.
   If the project remains in its pre-design phase come July 2004, the township may reapply for additional funding, which will be added onto any money that was awarding this year, Township Engineer Cathleen Marcelli said.
   The township received $250,000 in November toward the cost of constructing Liberty Way. Portions of the road already have been built by warehouse developers, including Cabot Industries and Prologis Trust, whose properties are located along Liberty Way.